


Lost (G/T P!Septiplier)

by PlatonicSeptiplier



Series: Chronicles of a Façade [1]
Category: P!Septiplier G/T, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Gen, Giant/Tiny, Lost - Freeform, Markiplier - Freeform, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Probably fluff and angst, TINY - Freeform, castaway, giant, giant!markiplier, jacksepticeye - Freeform, pewdiepie - Freeform, survivalofthefittest, tiny!jacksepticeye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 10:26:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 39,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11667246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlatonicSeptiplier/pseuds/PlatonicSeptiplier
Summary: Lost at sea, the amnesiac Sean "Jack" William McLoughlin finds himself a castaway on a strange unknown island. However, life on this island is harsher than one would have thought; the ecosystem is unrelentless and much bigger than Jack himself, and everything wants to kill the poor helpless little Irishman.But then Jack stumbles across secrets hidden at this island, and he awakes a beast that had been slumbering for quite some time. Will the creature find Jack a friend? ... or a foe?Contains swearing, action and perilBOOK 1





	1. Castaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack wakes up on a raft in the middle of the ocean with no memory of his past. This chapter is shortest due to being introductory, so apologies for that.

Jack groaned as he came to, his thoughts hazy and his vision blurry. His senses were fried, and his skin felt uncomfortably dry and yet wet. He could hear a looping gentle roaring noise, but the sound was being pounded mercilessly through his head like a gong, torturing the poor Irish man with a killer headache.

As Jack grew more conscious, he first grew aware of two colors; bright yellow, and then blue. There was blue everywhere... What had happened?

Jack groaned and weakly lifted his head. Half of his face was wet with salty water, but his lips were dry and cracked, and his throat felt arid and sticky. He sucked in a raspy breath as he slowly sat up, muscles shaking in effort as he struggled into an upright position.

"Wh-wha...?" Jack trailed off with a moan of pain, rubbing his throat. God he was so thirsty...! He couldn't think straight. His eyes lifted, and he blinked a few times before finally realizing the foamy waves of an ocean surrounded him.

Immediately every muscle in Jack's body seized up, and he yelped, clinging fearfully onto what he realized beneath him was a life raft. _Holy shit why the fuck am I on a raft in the middle of a fucking ocean!?_ Jack's breath briefly went short before he forced his thoughts to calm down, sucking in a few deep breaths. _Ok, calm down... just breathe... why can't I remember anything though? What the hell happened?_ He tried to scan the horizon for any signs of ships or smoke, but there weren't any signs of life to even be hinted. There was nothing but the big... scary... ocean.

 _Maybe there's an island nearby?_ Jack stretched his neck out a bit as he tried to look, but his arms quaked too much to remain balanced. Sighing, he laid back down, letting his green hair soak once more in the few ounces of water that was in the raft. _I just hope I don't die out here... wherever the fuck I am._

 

 

 

 

For what felt like forever, Jack drifted across the surface of the sea, with no food, no water, and no provisions, nothing but the bright yellow raft to barely keep him afloat. Each hour that inched by made him thirstier and more tired. But then finally, as he cast a feeble glance at the horizon, he spotted green. Land at last! He gave it his all to start paddling, and with the help of the currents and his renewed energy he managed to finally roll off of the raft and onto the crystal sand.

"Ooohhhh yyyyyyyeess!" Jack hissed out gladly. But now he had to find food and water. With a groan he slowly rolled over and gradually managed to pick himself up, only to fall back over because of his sea legs. It took quite a few tries, and a nearby tree, before Jack finally found himself plodding into the forest.

 _Okay, first things first. I need water..._ Jack vainly licked his lips with his sandpaper-dry tongue as he hobbled deeper into the forest, unaware of where he was or what ecosystem existed here. Either way, it was incredibly hot. Droplets of perspiration had beaded on the young man's brow and forehead, as he tiredly huffed into the stuffy air. Out at sea, there had been at least some form of water to keep him cooled off, but here in this jungle there was no water so far, and the sun was bearing its hot presence down upon him.

He kept walking before finding a little pond with some small black and white striped fishies, and Jack desperately fell to his hands and knees and scooped up a handful of water, drinking the cool liquid. A sense of primitive urge overcame him, and he ducked his head down into the small body of fresh water and cooled off his face as he greedily drank. Once he was satisfied, he finally pulled back and laid down in the warm grass, panting as he finally let himself rest.

After having closed his eyes for a moment, he opened them and turned his head, brushing a finger up along one of the long strands of grass that was surprisingly as long as his leg.

_... where am I?_


	2. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack ventures deeper into the island, but he may get a surprise bigger than he expected...

Having gotten his thirst sated, Jack's thoughts were a bit clearer as he sat up and looked around, taking in his environment. He noticed with curiosity that the trees were gargantuan, and everything almost seemed like Jack had stepped into a whole new world. _Oh god... It's like Jack and the Beanstalk, with me as Jack!_ Jack ran his fingers through his disheveled hair and got up. With a look up above beyond the canopy of the trees, he noticed that the sun was setting. _Grrreeeeaat...._ Jack groaned tiredly and looked around at the trees for a place to sleep the night. His eyes landed on a forking branch that would allow a reasonably firm enough place to rest, and so the Irish man nodded to himself and headed over to the tree. Again, as he peered up at the giant trunk of the tree, Jack once again couldn't help but feel small.

He took a deep breath before gripping the rugged bark of the tree, and he began climbing. His muscles were screaming in protest, but he knew he had to keep going. Who knew what animals were in this place? Besides, Jack knew that despite whatever the hell had happened before his memory went "Zap!" he still needed to keep safe and healthy until someone found him.

_But how far had I drifted away?_ was the question that came to mind as Jack finally hauled himself onto his perch. He glanced back down at the ground, and he immediately regretted it. His heart skipped a beat at how high up he was, and he squeezed the branches for a sense of vague security before he quickly looked away and nervously settled down. Once he had finally gotten as comfortable as possible,  he sighed wearily in exhaustion, and he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

**Everything was fuzzy and dark, blurry. He could hear muffled screams and see bright flashes of fire as someone raced past him. What was happening? Where was everyone?** _ **I need to find her...**_ **Find who though? Nothing made sense. Why were his surroundings shifting? A wave of water just came up in his face... was this a memory?  
**

**What had happened?**

 

 

 

 

The next day found Jack frowning as he woke. His entire body ached and felt sore all over, and he let out a small whine as he slowly sat up and came to. He gave a big yawn and a stretch, wondering what he should do today when he heard a nearby growl.

Jack turned and immediately froze with his blue eyes wide in fear. Nearing was a creature that was suppose to be extinct... a t rex.

Jack gulped nervously as he remained still, watching the carnivorous beast. It had a big head that was lined with razor sharp teeth, small eyes and little arms with lethal claws, a big tail and huge powerful legs. Jack had a feeling that if he moved, the monstrous creature would easily outrun him and snap his frail body like a toothpick.

But as the t rex walked right up to Jack's tree, Jack was struggling to not move. But at the same it, it was so cool! Sure, it was an extremely dangerous and giant animal that could kill Jack without breaking a sweat, but Jack felt a sort of odd giddiness rise up in him. This was a dinosaur! No one had seen one of these for millions of years!

The t rex rumbled and turned its head, scanning its surroundings for something to eat. Jack took the opportunity to try and climb up a little higher, seeing that he was only just barely above the rex's head. He started making his way up, but he only got to make a little progress before his grip suddenly slipped, and with a yell Jack found himself tumbling in the air, crashing through some leaves and getting scratched up by branches, before he finally hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Jack groaned as he got back up, scratched up and bleeding in some spots. He jerked with fright when he noticed that the t rex was looking straight at him, and it roared loudly before trying to snap its jaws at him. Jack let slip a small scream as he threw himself to the side, barely avoiding those sharp teeth. Scrambling to get back up, Jack wasted no time in taking off in a desperate footrace to the death. Huge thumping steps made the ground shake as the prehistoric beast gave chase, and Jack kept running as fast as his weak and battered body could go. But he didn't go very far before the tyrannosaurus rex took another swipe at him, one that Jack just barely managed to deflect by darting behind a tree. He kept running, already breathing heavily and out of breath before he stumbled and fell over the large roots of a tree. Desperate, Jack quickly crawled into the dark shadows of the roots, and the t rex roared outside as it stopped and lowered its head, looking curiously at Jack's hiding place. Chest heaving, Jack pressed against the soil wall, his heart hammering with adrenaline.

For a moment nothing happen, but then wood suddenly splintered as the t rex chomped on the outer roots of the sturdy tree. Jack yelled out and wriggled deeper, growing more frantic as the t rex kept clawing its way closer and closer to the weak little human.

The soil under Jack suddenly shifted downwards, and Jack had no time to shout out in alarm as he suddenly fell through the ground, fortunately avoiding the wrath of the t rex. But he was in freefall through the ground, before his surroundings suddenly opened up to a large cavern underground. Jack hit the ground with a smack, and he moaned in pain.

"Really? Again!?" He complained out loud, wearily pushing himself up. Down on one knee, Jack took a look at his surroundings, seeing absolutely nothing but pitch darkness. He could hear a breeze though, it seemed to be coming from somewhere... maybe it was a way out!

Jack shivered at the cold air of the stony cave, and he brought up the collar of his jacket as he began to walk, following where he thought the wind was coming from. But it was very echoing, so Jack was soon left to just blindly stick his arms out like Frankenstein and hope for the best.

It eventually got warmer and warmer, and the wind got louder and louder, and Jack's heart quickened a beat at the idea of getting out of this dark hellhole. But he suddenly ran into something, something that made him yell out and spring back. His hands were all of a sudden warm and slimy, making him wrinkle his nose in disgust.

"Eeeewwww! Gross." Jack wiped his hands off his jeans and looked at where he had been heading, then took a step back. as a warm breeze made his hair stir. _Whatever the fuck is right in front of me, I don't want none of it._ Turning, Jack continued to walk, once again blindly holding his arms out in hopes of hitting a wall and scaling his way along it to find an exit. To his surprise, his fingers suddenly came in contact with wood, and he felt around a bit before hitting something metal and squeaky.

_A lantern!_ Jack eagerly grabbed it and fumbled for the knob, and with a few squeaky twists the lamp's little flame sputtered to life. Before Jack was an old run down facility looking area, the door having been boarded up with a "Do Not Enter" message scrawled over. The lantern had been hanging on a nail beside the doorway, luckily still having some fuel in it, but it was all dusty and had some cobwebs on it. Jack stifled a cough and stepped away.

_I wonder what I ran into earlier..._ He turned and took only a few steps before dropping the lantern and jolting with a gasp.

Illuminated before him was the massive face of a slumbering giant.

 


	3. Mark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Mark the giant! Is he friendly, or would Jack make a nice snack?

Jack's eyes were wide as he quickly turned tail and sprinted away, diving behind a boulder and shivering from head to toe.

 _Oh Jesus Christ! What the fuck was that!?_ Jack gulped in a few breaths before peeking out, seeing that the giant hadn't moved. Cautious, he slowly stood up a little and crept back over, snatching his lantern before standing up straight and holding up his source of light.

Oddly enough, the giant looked very human. Its eyes were closed as it slept, and it had some stubble on its jawline and a little over the mouth. It had black fluffy hair and golden tan skin. As Jack scanned the monstrous creature anxiously, he decided that it looked very human, just... a lot bigger.

Jack glanced at the giant's slightly open mouth and grimaced before carrying on looking at the rest of him, seeing that the giant was simply massive. For whatever reason, he seemed in excellent shape, with well toned muscles, and he had a black shirt on with casual jeans.

Jack stood there for a moment, taking in what he had just stumbled across. First, he had found a likely uncharted island that had fucking dinosaurs on it, and now he had found a real, legitimate giant!?

"What the fuck...!" Jack whispered to himself, going back up to the giant's peaceful face. It was a huge relief to Jack that the gargantuan beast was unconscious, but it soon occurred to Jack that he needed to get out of here before it woke up. As soon as he had thought that, however, his eyes landed on what was around the giant's neck. Curious, the small Irish man cautiously ventured closer, seeing to his surprise that it was a huge metal chain with a tag carved into it. He set the lantern down and held the tag in his hands, reading it out loud.

"Mark #54..." He frowned. "Is this suppose to be some sort of experiment nametag or--" Jack jumped when he had pulled the tag out accidentally, and the chain fell down loosely around the giant's neck, now unlocked.

 _... oops._ Jack quietly set the metal tag down and stood there for a moment, thinking. He was fascinated by how he could feel the giant's body heat, and he thought for a moment that if he went even closer, then he could probably hear its heartbeat. And then he was still awed by the sheer size of the gargantuan giant, but there was the question of "Why?" What was a giant doing here chained up underground on an island? Who had been here before him? Why would someone need a giant, let alone capture one?

Jack was pulled out of his thoughts when a rumbly groan suddenly echoed through the cave, and Jack's eyes widened as one of the giant's large muscular arms shifted. It was waking up! He quickly whirled around and scampered back into hiding, abandoning the lantern again so he could still see as he watched from behind the rock in awe.

The giant's brow slightly bunched together before he emitted a sleepy growl, one that seemed to shake Jack's breastbone in both fear and amazement. The giant shifted his entirely body, his legs going back a little bit before he opened his mouth in a large yawn. Jack couldn't help but quiver in adrenaline as he looked on, and continued to watch as the giant sleepily opened his eyes.

The massive beast's eyes were unfocused for a moment, a deep earth brown illuminated with an orange glow of the lantern. It slowly lifted its head up, then stopped as the chains rattled and clinked quietly. Jack sucked a breath in, realizing that he had made a mistake. The giant looked down at his former collar and touched his clavicle, then slowly sat up and brushed the chain off. It thundered onto the floor before going quiet, and the giant looked down at the lantern. Then his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he gave a low growl that came deeply from within his chest.

 _Ohhh ssshhhhiiiit..._ Jack realized nervously that he looked very angry for whatever reason, and he ducked back into hiding to take a moment. He heard the giant growl again as he shifted from beyond Jack's hiding spot, and then he settled down, sniffing the air. For a moment, Jack could soon hear nothing but the giant's soft deep breathing, but then the giant suddenly roared and smashed a nearby rock, making Jack jolt and peek back out of hiding again.

The giant had gone into a sort of frenzy, smashing whatever his fists and shoes could hit. Jack's eyes widened he saw a fist headed in his direction, and he threw himself to the side just before his rock was smashed to bits. He fell into a small coughing fit as he struggled to his feet with a groan, and he turned to see that the giant had stopped and was looking in his direction.

The giant's lips pulled back in a low snarl, clearly angry about something. He leaned forward and started reaching out for Jack with a large hand, and Jack's eyes widened as he ran and dodged the outstretched hand, but he found himself running straight into the giant's other waiting hand. He yelled out as the hand grabbed him by the legs, and he found himself upside down and flying up into the air.

Jack was breathing heavily when he finally came face to face with the aggressive giant, and he was triggered by how high up he was, panicking. The giant looked him up and down, then held him close and sniffed him. Jack shuddered and shifted in its grip while waving his arms and pushing against the giant's massive fingers, attempting to get free. But he was caught.

The giant suddenly huffed and pulled away, peering at the little Irish man that he had caught. Jack squirmed again, staring anxiously back at the large humanoid face. A sort of emotion suddenly went through the giant as he frowned, and Jack suddenly found himself approaching the ground before gently being set back down.

Shuddering, Jack looked up at the giant, who was staring at him with a look of curiosity. Perhaps he was wondering how Jack had gotten in here.

 _Mother of Christ... oh, shit!_ Jack sat up and got up on his feet, looking around. _I gotta get the fuck out of here!_ He tiptoed forward and grabbed his lantern, and he kept an eye on the giant as he quickly backed away before starting to look for a way out.

The giant sat there and watched the human run back and forth, darting around like a little rodent, and he tilted his head slightly before lifting his hand up and brushing a strand of his long silky hair out of his face. He was very confused by the human, and he didn't remember much about where he was, but he did remember the humans...

However, this one seemed different... he smelled like the outside world...

Jack stopped running when he ran out of breath and got dizzy from lack of calories, and he stood there for a moment before looking back at the giant. Only the outline of his face was visible from the shadows of the darkness, and he was staring straight at Jack with those large almond shaped eyes, giving the Irish man a shiver down his spine. But Jack soon turned his attention to another problem.

"There's no way out," Jack said, setting the lamp down on a rock. He started pacing. "I fell in from the ceiling, so there's no way going back up, but there's gotta be a way out right? You had to have gotten in here somehow too..." Jack stopped and looked at the giant. "... I'll just call you Mark for now I guess, how's that?" Jack declared. The giant blinked and tilted his head again before nodding, and Jack continued pacing.

"Great, at least you can understand me too." Jack stopped again. "Wait... you can understand me!?" Jack looked at Mark, who fidgeted before nodding and lying down on his stomach, still facing Jack. Jack blinked before muttering, "Jesus Christ this is so cool but so fucking terrifying at the same time..." Ruffling his green hair, Jack continued on.

"Great... yer a fuckin' giant who can understand me, but you almost got me squashed into an Irish potato pancake, and you attacked me!" Jack shot the giant a bold glare, and Mark pressed his chin down on the ground and rested his cheek down, watching Jack with interest, wondering what the human was going to do. Again, Jack sighed and kept pacing.

"Not to mention that I'm fucking lost, I don't know where I am or... or who I am..." Jack stood still for a moment, Mark behind him as he sighed and put his hand over his nose bridge. "I wanna go home!" Jack shouted. "Wherever the fuck that is, I'm done here! I want to eat cookies and pizza and shit, and I want my memories back!" Jack rubbed his eyes in frustration as he heard Mark growl softly. The giant seemed to be trying to express sympathy, but he didn't know how to speak other than saying "grrr..."

Jack sighed and turned back to Mark, wobbling a little in dizziness. He winced and blinked a couple times, realizing that he didn't feel good.

"Can- can you talk?" Jack asked hopefully. Mark looked away uncertainly, and he shrugged. Jack sighed again, but his sigh ended up in a groan as he found himself bent over with his arms wrapped over his stomach. "Oh god..." he hissed. "Fucking-" He winced again as his stomach let out a sickening growl, and Jack fell down on one knee in pain. Mark lifted his head and growled again, but Jack gave no response as he fell over on his side, and the world went completely black.

 


	4. An Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who wouldn't want to become friends with a giant? But how is Jack going to get out of this predicament?

**"Sean...! Sean!" A voice cried. Who was it though? It sounded familiar... but it was fading. It was a woman's... was she calling out to him? He was back in that place with the flames licking at the edge of his vision. Why were his surroundings rocking though? He felt cold. He saw yellow and black and orange, but it was all such a blur. What happened...?**

**Jack couldn't remember anything from this strange vision, but he realized his name. Sean. The name sounded familiar in his dream, but not quite right... Maybe Jack. Yes... he knew other people who called him that, but he couldn't remember their names or faces. He wanted to remember, he desperately wanted to have his old life back. Perhaps this woman was his special someone...**

**And he didn't even know her name.**

 

 

 

 

Jack's mind was heavy and his thoughts were thick as he came to. He stirred with a groan and opened his eyes slowly, a dull ache of pain in his empty stomach. He slowly sat up, swaying a little before looking around. It was dark. The lantern had died out, leaving Jack alone in the dark. Jack shivered and rubbed his arms, and he slowly got up.

"... h-hello?" He called out warily. No answer. Jack shivered again and turned around, but he couldn't see shit. With shaky legs he turned again when he heard something big shift around, but he couldn't see anything still.

A sickening gurgle suddenly made Jack bend over again with a groan, gripping his arms over his empty stomach.

"A-ahh..." He gritted his teeth. "Sh-shite..." He tensed up when he felt something move closer to him, and a warm breath of air breathed softly down his spine, ruffling his hair and clothes. Jack looked up from his crouch to just barely make out in the darkness a slight glisten of the giant Mark's eyes.

Jack's shoulders slumped as he let out a nervous sigh.

"H-hey Mark...?" He said warily, standing up. He was soon shocked to feel the giant rub his cheek up against the human in a nuzzle, leaving Jack's heart pounding in his breast. His chest heaved upward as he took a second to collect himself, and then he cautiously stuck his hands out into the darkness and took a step forward. His hands met a warm surface of skin and hair as he touched the giant's jawbone, and Jack winced when Mark flinched back with a suspicious growl.

"S-sorry," Jack mumbled, shrinking back. He was still overwhelmed with exhilaration at the giant, both afraid and in awe. But he needed a game plan, he had to get out of here...

Maybe if Mark helped him...

"Can you come here for a second?" Jack called out. He felt the air around him warm back up as Mark warily rested his chin down on the cold cave floor, inches away from the human. "Ahm..." Jack cleared his throat. "Y-you want to get out of here, right?"

Mark growled softly in agreement.

"Well uhm, how about we make a peace treaty?" Jack nervously suggested. "Y-you don't eat me, and uh, and since I want to get out of here too, we work together to find a way out." Jack looked nervously at Mark. "D-deal?"

For a moment Mark didn't reply, but then the giant gave a soft rumble of agreement.

"Ok. Alrighty then." Jack rubbed his hands together and shivered. It was getting chilly. "First things first, I can't see in the dark like you can, so we gotta get a lantern on or a torch lit or something."

Mark pulled back in the shadows for a moment, and then with a squeaky sound of metal he returned Jack's lantern to the Irishman.

Jack took the lantern and tried to light it, but as he suspected there was no more oil.

"Ok," Jack groaned and looked at Mark. "Where's that door that says do not enter?"

Mark pulled back with a soft whine, which surprised Jack.

"Come on don't be a baby on me now!" Jack exclaimed. "We gotta get the fuck out of here! And you're a giant, why would you be scared of anything?" Mark simply whined again, backing away from Jack. Jack sighed and ran his fingers through his bright green hair.

"Look buddy, I'm not asking you to go in there with me," he reasoned. "I just need you to get me in there so I can find some oil or flint." After a moment of sense silence, Mark hesitantly returned to his ally and picked him up by the back of his jacket, making Jack yell out and squirm in surprise.

The giant's fingers soon slackened and set Jack back down. Jack stuck his hand out, and sure enough he found himself touching wood.

"... warn me next time before I go on the Mark Express will ya?" Jack groused. Mark rumbled nervously, having backed away again as soon as he could. Jack turned and looked into the shadowed depths of the dark cave.

"It's ok Mark," he coaxed. "I'll be right back." Mark growled and shifted, and Jack turned and made his way through two of the boards. Once he made it inside, Jack started up his Frankenstein procedure again and started walking around, feeling wood and metal and cold rock.

After a lot of walking, Jack found something interesting. It felt smooth and slender, made of metal, and when Jack pulled on it a few sparks suddenly flew.

With his luck, one of the sparks landed on a wooden plank, and the wood's tip lit up with small eager flames, illuminating Jack's vision.

"Yes!" Jack pumped his fist in the air. "Four leaf clover! I am man, and I make fire baby!" He shouted out loud. He grabbed a piece of wood and grabbed a dusty part of an old ineffective curtain. He wrapped the cloth around the tip of the wood, and then stuck it into the hungry flames.

Jack was soon walking along with his makeshift torch down what seemed like a long corridor. Where he had come across his lucky strike was some kind of control room with dead machines. The next room Jack walked into though was a large room with a looking glass that showed the cave.

"Hey Mark!" Jack waved, and after a few seconds Mark's face appeared from the darkness to look at Jack. He looked pretty surprised as the little Irishman waved again. "Hi!" Jack smiled and giggled, relieved to see Mark smile a little in return as he pressed his hand over the glass. Jack was glad that he had a companion to help him out on this deserted island.

Jack continued looking around the place before he noticed an old computer that was hooked up to some very large old fashioned screens. Jack set his torch carefully aside and took a look.

_Man, these are dusty!_ Coughing, Jack brushed away a few cobwebs before he saw a power cord. He stretched his arm out and grabbed it, and he plugged it in to the outlet.

To his surprise, the computer screen lit, and the machine whirled as the old PC came to life. The first thing Jack saw was that in the corner of the screen it said there was no service.

The second thing he noticed was that everything was all in Korean.

 


	5. 프로젝트 마크

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the power of movie magic (or in this case writing magic), Jack discovers Mark's past, and the bond between them strengthens.

Jack's eyes were round with interest as he leaned over the screen, looking at the assorted files. There was no English, but Jack found that he could read the language.

 _Huh, I never knew I could read Korean... then again I can't remember shit._ Jack looked around for the mouse before ducking under the computer to grab it, and he came back up after plugging it in. _Alrighty then, let's see what you got._ Jack moved the mouse cursor over a file and clicked it. The big wall screen came on with a flicker, opening up documents and video files.

"... Jesus Christ," Jack whispered. He clicked on the first video file, and the video loaded; it fizzed before the camera came on. A Korean spoke in his language, standing in front of the glass pane. He was saying something about how this was Project attempt #1, and Jack immediately shielded his eyes with a groan of disgust when the camera changed to show the failed project.

"Eeeeewwwww!" Jack complained. "I don't wanna see that, what the fuck!" He closed the video and skimmed down a few to another video. Each video had a few symbols beside them before listing a number, starting from 1.

After Jack scarred himself with a few more humanoid project attempts, Jack's cursor paused over video #50. He saw that the videos ended with Mark's number: 54. Jack went ahead and clicked on 53, and he watched on with interest.

"Project attempt number 53." The Korean was standing in the same place as he had been in all of the videos, his arm in a sling from one of the previous project attempts. "Motor control is stable, the project is responding," translated the soldier's words. "Brain use detected successfully, skill acquisition functional. The project also has limb control, however it is bearing emotional instability." This time when the camera planned, it showed a tall muscular giant glaring at one of the soldiers. Jack bit his lip, having a feeling what was next after having seen the other videos.

Sure enough, the giant broke the staring contest and roared, lashing out with unbelievable speed and swatting one of the soldiers away. There was shouting as the giant picked up another, and ignoring his screams and struggles the monster opened his mouth and devoured the poor guy. Jack covered his eyes as he heard screaming and bones being crunched, and he rubbed his eyes heavily, taking a deep breath as the audio continued. He heard gun shots and roaring, footsteps and hitting. And then there was a shaking sound.

Jack looked out from behind his hand to see that the giant had killed a lot of people and ran off into the darkness, and the surroundings shook before rocks suddenly crashed and kicked up dust. And then the video ended.

Jack stared at the screen for a moment, and then looked at his torch. It had died down to embers, so Jack left the computer to tend to it. Once it was brought back to life with a little tinder, Jack returned to the computer and took a deep breath.

Alright... here we go. Jack clicked on the last video, and he watched with sweat beading on his brow.

"Project attempt number 54." There was a different Korean man this time. He wasn't a soldier, he had a vest on with pockets and had crooked glasses that needed cleaning. "All functions are accurate, and the emotional state has been tinkered with yet again. We hoped that this perfect war machine would be ready for the Korean War, but the war ended a long time ago in a slow and painful conclusion, opposite of its start. We have collected two new specimen for the chromosomes, a Hawaiian commander as an ally has come over with one of our officers' daughters, and their pairs of chromosomes joined up perfectly... hopefully this time is a success." When the camera shifted, Jack's knuckles went white as he gripped the desk.

They had Mark tied up with the chain collar around his neck, shackles around his wrists and ankles, and he looked miserable. He had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his hair was an absolute mess with several tufts sticking up in odd directions, and despite his muscles he looked starved. They were keeping him like an animal! No wonder Mark had flipped out when Jack had woke him up!

The door opened and let in soldiers, who were armed and aiming at the ready. A shout of Korean commanded the guards, and they came closer to Mark. Mark growled miserably and pressed against the wall, then strained against the chains with a whimper.

"Shut up you filthy animal." The commander of the soldiers stepped up, his gun in its holster. "You fear us... that is good," he said. "But you will learn to obey us. You will learn to serve your country, and you will be the death of America and we will rule the world." Mark growled and jerked, snapping his jaws at the cold hearted men. Everyone but the commander jumped back, but the commander instead chuckled and pulled his gloves off. "You will one day learn," he sighed.

Jack watched with horror as the men turned and headed back to the door... but what was Mark doing? He was tugging against his chains, his teeth gritted and his eyes clenched shut in effort to escape. He was scared. He was scared of the Korean soldiers that were here, scared of what they did to him.

Before the video ended, however, the setting suddenly zipped to another location, this time showing Mark being untied as the commander watched. Jack's eyes narrowed. _Bitch... you better not have fucking hurt him._

"What is your name?" The commander asked sharply. Mark looked up from his hands to stare fearfully at the man, then ducked his head and avoided his emotionless eyes. "When you are asked a question, you answer!" The commander snapped. "Speak!" Mark instead whimpered, his chest rising and falling as he panted in fear. The commander sighed and looked at the camera. "Professor, lingual control was never considered."

"That's a shame," The man holding the camera sighed. "I think he still understands human speech."

"Try speaking in English." The professor came into view of the camera and approached the giant. Mark snarled weakly and strained against his chains. The professor hesitated, then cleared his throat.

"Do you understand me? Nod yes or shake for no." Mark stared wide eyed at the professor before nodding. The professor continued. "Do you know what you are?"

Mark slowly shook his head.

"You are a creature of war," the professor said. "You were designed for battle. You may not know how to speak, but you understand us, and in turn you understand commands and obedience."

Mark looked like a puppy that had been kicked in the ass right out of a house and into a cold blizzard.

"And..." the professor paused to clean his glasses. He pushed them back up the bridge of his nose and then continued. "Your purpose? Why, that's a simple question. You are to kill the enemy." Mark looked horrified at this and shifted, his hands were clasped together and he looked very uncomfortable.

"Sir!" A young soldier ran into the view of the camera, shouting in Korean. "It's happened!"

"Professor turn that damn thing off!" The commander immediately ordered as men rushed around Mark to chain him back up. Mark's eyes widened as he roared and shook his surroundings, and he blew the men back as he fought back, refusing to remain captive.

"Quick! Sedate it!" One man screamed. There was a whistling noise as a small dart embedded itself into the thick skin of the giant's neck, and Mark stopped moving. He blinked sleepily and looked at the camera, and then slowly collapsed and fell unconscious on the floor.

"... oh Mark..." Jack murmured, his chest had seized up in horror. The professor picked up the camera again as the men were about to chain Mark back up, but then just faintly came a loud roar, and then there was screaming.

Then the video abruptly ended.

Jack stared at the screen for a good five minutes before he stepped away from the computer. His hands came up to his head, his fingers digging through his green messy hair. His empty stomach was twisting and churning with nausea, and he felt sick after what he had just seen.

"... fucking hell."

 

 

 

 

Mark was laying on his back with his eyes closed when Jack returned with his torch. The giant stirred and tilted his head, and he opened one eye curiously at Jack.

Jack stopped and stared at Mark for a few seconds, still numb with horror. He took a few steps, then dropped the torch and ran to Mark, hugging the giant's nose.

Mark had frozen in surprise when the Irishman had come and hugged the bridge of his nose, and he slowly relaxed and closed his eyes, purring softly. Jack smiled a little and nuzzled the giant. He appreciated that Mark trusted him enough now to get this close.

Mark suddenly opened his eyes and lifted his head up slightly with a curious rumble, lifting Jack off his feet. Jack looked at Mark and gave a goofy grin, making Mark purr again as he smiled back.

"... alrighty then." Jack let go after Mark rested his chin down, and he raced back over to his torch. "Let's go spelunking!" He declared. Mark growled in agreement and crawled over to the human, stuck in a crouch since the cave ceiling wasn't high enough for him. Jack led the way, heading off in the direction he had saw Project 53 go. He felt pretty confident with Mark right behind him, ready to protect him if the small human ran into any trouble.

They traveled for a while. The tunnel first went up, but now it was currently sloping downward. It was getting colder too, and the rock was moist.

Mark would pause every now and then to look around, trying to see ahead of Jack's light. He wouldn't linger for too long though, he would only take a second or two before following Jack once more, and then repeating this cycle so he wouldn't crowd his small partner in crime.

"Whoa." Jack stopped and took a step back, backing into Mark's wrist. "Oops, sorry," he quickly apologized when he felt Mark jump back in surprise. "Look though."

In front of them was rubble. The way through the tunnel was closed off by rocks... maybe this was the result of that avalanche in Project 53's video.

Jack set the torch down and approached the wall of rocks, hearing Mark behind him rumble softly in caution. Jack climbed a rock and peeked through a small crevice, then scaled to another part of the rubble and tried again. When he saw a nook big enough to put his hand in though, he got excited and tried to tug on the rock.

Mark suddenly snarled softly as some specks of gravel fell from the ceiling.

"It's ok buddy. I'm... almost... AH!" Jack fell back when he lost his grip, and the rocks toppled and began to crumble and roll. Jack lost track of what was happening, but he felt something break his fall, then he was smothered as the crashing of rocks became muffled.

After everything fell quiet, Jack realized he could hear Mark's fast heartbeat and heavy breathing very loudly. Then a cough racked loudly in his ears, and he felt his surroundings slowly shift. Jack let out a weak cough as dust irritated his sinuses, and he waved some of the particles away before realizing that Mark's thumb was pressed over his waist.

Mark had dived forward when the avalanche had been started up again, and he had caught Jack midair before pressing the human to his chest and curling up on the floor. He now coughed again as he held Jack up above the dust that swirled around his feet. He rumbled anxiously as Jack coughed, and Jack took a moment to regain his senses before he replied.

"I-I'm ok..." then he looked at Mark. "You saved my life..." he realized with awe. Mark gave a shaky purr, sniffing Jack carefully to make sure that the human was ok. He was ok, but he still needed food desperately...

"I guess there's no way going through this way then." Jack nodded to the pile of rocks that had only gotten bigger with his tampering, and Mark growled nervously in agreement. "Now where's that torch..." Mark shifted through a couple rocks before finding the small flickering light, and he pinched it between his thumb and index finger before holding it up to Jack.

Jack accepted the torch and looked around with it. "Well, at least we're not trapped," he pointed out. Mark growled and set Jack down on his shoulder, and he crawled back into the main cave area. Jack sighed and sat down, tired from his close call.

"Don't worry Mark... we'll find another way out," Jack encouraged. Mark tilted his head to look at his smaller companion, and he rumbled softly. "No I'm not just saying that," Jack sighed. "I mean it, we're gonna-" he suddenly curled up with a groan as his stomach twisted with pain again, dropping the torch. Mark whimpered anxiously and sat down, helpless to take away his ally's pain. Jack groaned and gripped Mark's shirt, slowly relaxing as the pain returned to a dull ache.

"A-ah..." He laid there for a moment, panting. "G-god..." He slowly turned over on his backside, dizzy, and he caught a glimpse of Mark glancing at him again. "I-I'm fine Mark, I'm..." Jack went limp, and he passed out again.

 


	6. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When his little buddy is in trouble, Mark decides to take matters into his own hands.

Jack's eyes slowly opened to pure darkness. His mind felt extremely sluggish, his thoughts scrambled like broke eggs, and his muscles felt stiff and sore. He found that he couldn't move, so he simply laid there for a moment, weak and feeling a little loopy. Oddly enough though, he felt warm all over, and for a moment he wished he was home, buried under his covers with his memories back.

His hand twitched before slowly clenching in a fist, feeling that the surface beneath him was soft and felt like silky grass. But it didn't make his skin itch like most grass did...

Jack tried to sit up, but his muscles weren't fully under his control, and he remained limp.

"M-Maahhrk ...?" He slurred feebly. The giant soon growled softly with a slight purr, responding to the familiar human with relief in his tone. Jack groaned as he tried to move again, but he was so tired, and his stomach felt like it was collapsing on itself. "Ugh..." Jack tilted his head before realizing that he was laying down in Mark's soft black hair. The giant had placed him here in hopes of Jack waking up as comfortably as possible, but he knew that more than anything, Jack needed food or else he was going to die...

"... Mark, I..." Jack took a shallow breath, and he continued. "I-I think I'm sick... I'm starving, b-badly." Mark tilted his head a little and made a rumbly noise that rose deep from within his chest. Jack felt Mark look around a bit, and his eyes widened when he suddenly felt Mark shift and start to move.

The giant slowly rose to a crouch and held an arm up to feel for the ceiling, then started searching around. Jack was completely blind with his human eyes, not able to see in the darkness and watch what Mark was up to. But when Mark found the hole Jack had fell through and suddenly slammed his fist through rock, Jack couldn't help but yell in surprise at the sudden spew of rubble, and he held on to Mark's hair for his life. Mark slammed his fist again into the ceiling of the cave a couple more times, then started pawing at it. Weak rays of moonlight filtered through the darkness, and Jack's eyes widened as Mark made the hole bigger.

Then Mark shoved his arm up, and more of the ceiling crumbled before giving away to the determined giant, and lunar light poured into the cave. Jack squinted in the face of the bright light as the giant pushed over the tree and climbed up.

A cold breeze made Jack shiver a little as the two odd couple resurfaced, and Mark squinted as he pulled himself out of the earth and looked around at the forest.

Jack slowly pushed himself up and weakly stood, noticing that Mark was staring at the sky. He walked to the edge of his head and gently patted a long tuft of the giant's hair, his other arm wrapped around his middle.

"Y-you did it buddy," he said quietly. "You're free."

Mark growled softy and reached up to Jack, and he picked up the human to set him down on his knee. Jack's legs almost buckled under him had Mark not quickly put his hand beside the human for a support. Draping his arms gratefully over his ally's fingers, Jack lifted his eyes up to see the moon setting. It alarmed him that he had been underground for an entire day... no wonder his throat was dry.

Mark suddenly shifted and gently scooped up his partner, making Jack grunt in protest as the giant got up and rose to his full height. Jack's eyes had widened when he watched the ground suddenly shrink beneath Mark's hand, and he now shuddered and sat back away from the edge.

"Jesus Christ you're so fucking big..." he commented, in both amazement and fear. While he was glad that the giant had decided to not eat Jack or anything, he still had so many damn questions. For starters, where the hell could he get something to eat!?

Jack winced and curled up when his stomach gave off another painful gurgle, and he whimpered, pressing an arm over his middle. Mark's fingers curled slightly at his acquaintance's pain, and he looked around before his pupils dilated with interest. He took a few steps before crouching down, and as Jack slowly recovered from his wave of pain, he heard a crunching noise.

He looked up to see that Mark had gone over to a coconut tree and pulled some coconuts off of it. The giant shifted before sitting down comfortably, and he set his small handful of sustenance down beside Jack. Jack struggled into a sitting position once more and looked at Mark.

"C-coconuts?" He asked. Mark nodded, nudging one closer and inviting the human to have one. Jack leaned forward and picked it up, and he took a wary look at it before noticing that his giant buddy had pierced its thick skin and gotten the inside revealed.

Jack put the coconut to his lips and hesitantly drank its contents, grimacing a little at first from the lack of taste.

"Bleh." He wiped his mouth and looked up at Mark, who was watching with undivided alertness. "You want one?" Jack offered. The giant shook his head. "Alright then." Jack finished off the coconuts and set it down. He already felt a little better after getting those desperately needed nutrients.

Once Jack had finished drinking from enough coconuts, his stomach had finally stopped hurting  after being filled with sustenance. Jack gave a small sigh of relief and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and he looked up at Mark.

"Thanks Mark," he said gratefully. Mark purred and discarded the coconuts for Jack, seeming pleased that he had helped out. Jack yawned and lifted his arms up behind his head as he arched his back in a stretch. He was hoping to loosen up his muscles, but he was still very tired.

When he was done with that, Jack looked up at Mark, who was looking at the moon again. Jack tilted his head, and he watched the giant. Mark was staring with a sort of wonder in his eyes, looking like he was appreciating his newfound freedom. Jack found a smile coming on, and he got up and shakily walked to the edge of the giant's hand.

"... I don't know about you bud, but I'm really tired," Jack gently interrupted. Mark looked down at Jack and rumbled in agreement. He picked Jack up and held the Irishman to his chest as he got up and started walking again. Jack left his acquaintance to his own devices, and he yawned again before resting his cheek against Mark's broad chest, and he closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep.

 


	7. "Hello, My Name Is Mark."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> G/T plus a rainy day makes for some great quality time with your friendly neighborhood giant.

When Jack woke up, it was midday. He was surprised to find that Mark had taken him into a cave, where the giant had laid down and fallen asleep with a warm hand over his little human ally. Outside, it was very humid. But it was also raining heavily.

Jack sleepily pressed the heels of his hands into the surface below him as he opened his eyes. He felt a lot better than when he had first come on this island, and he hoped that his health would remain stable until someone found him and brought him back to civilization.

He looked outside to watch the rain for a little bit. He could smell the fresh scent of the rainfall, and he was also surprised to realize that it was quite cold outside despite the usual tropical humidity. Sighing, Jack shifted a little further down under Mark's hand to cover himself in the giant's warmth and hide from the storm outside. Once fully under, Jack curled up and laid there for a little while.

It was a while before Mark finally woke up, and by then Jack had dozed off. The giant was rudely woken up when a splash of water sprinkled square onto his nose, and the giant wrinkled his nose as his eyes tiredly opened. He eyed the cave roof before another raindrop hit him on the forehead. He growled and turned his head to see that the wind had changed direction, and the rain was now pouring into the mouth of the cave.

Mark huffed and got up and carried Jack deeper into the cave so that they wouldn't get wet. He sat down and leaned against the cave wall, bringing his knees up to his chest and holding the sleepy little Irishman against his shoulder. Later on though, he felt Jack stir in his hand, so Mark gently pinched his waist and set him down on his knee. He then sat and looked at the sleeping human closely, smiling a little in happiness. They were finally free. He was finally out of that horrible dark cave, and he had made a friend!

He watched as Jack blinked open his sleepy little baby blue eyes, and his smile widened to show his teeth as he watched the human wake. Jack yawned and stretched his arms and legs out, and Mark couldn't resist reaching a hand up and gently rubbing the little human's back with one finger. To his relief, Jack didn't freeze up in fear or anything, instead his shoulders rolled as he sat up and rubbed his sleepy little eyes, giving no protest to the giant's touch.

This made Mark really happy.

"Hey buddy." Jack looked at Mark to see that the giant was smiling, and he couldn't help but smile back. "Enjoying your freedom?" Jack chuckled. Mark purred and leaned his head down, gently nuzzling Jack. Jack giggled like a kid on Christmas as he reached up and stroked the giant's soft floofy hair. He then yelped a little when Mark tilted his head back up and in the process brought Jack with him, and the Irishman hauled himself safely onto the giant's hair. Mark gave a small but deep giggling noise, and Jack found himself grinning as he scratched the top of Mark's head.

"Awww!" He awed when Mark purred. He started petting the giant to the best of his ability, making him purr harder. "You're like the pet I never have had! Aw this is so cool!" He was interrupted when thunder rumbled outside, and Jack flinched away from the cave entrance. Mark gave a soft rumble, tilting his head slightly. Lightning flashed before the thunder gave a loud clap, making Jack yelp and press himself down into the messy swamp of Mark's hair.

Mark growled at the storm outside and lifted his arm. His hand skimmed over a few messy tufts before he managed to find and gently pry Jack out of the mop of hair. Jack shivered and welcomed Mark's hand as the giant pressed Jack to his chest with his hand over him, separating him from the angry thunderstorm. He laid down on the ground and curled up, and he began to purr loudly to drown out the noise of the rain.

Jack sighed gratefully as he curled up in his friend's embrace, then gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Um... no one needs to know about this, alright?" Jack called out to Mark. Mark gave a deep-throated rumble that vibrated Jack's body, and Jack smiled a little and pressed against the giant's chest. "It's just that it sounds like something that could attack me, especially now that I know giants are apparently a thing," he reasoned. Mark growled softly in agreement. Jack closed his eyes and listened to Mark's strong heartbeat for a little bit, then opened his eyes.

"... Mark!" He suddenly exclaimed. Mark rumbled curiously and opened his arms up a little, allowing Jack to run up onto his shoulder. "I know what we can do to pass the time, I can try to teach you to talk!" Jack suggested eagerly. Mark's expression fell to hesitation, and he uncertainly looked away from Jack with a small growl. "Hey, its ok buddy..." Jack soothed the giant as he put his hand on his neck. "I'm not gonna do anything bad to you, ever. I promise, scouts honor." Mark looked back at Jack and scratched the back of his head before slowly nodding in agreement to Jack's excitement. Jack even gave a little squeak and clapped his hands together.

"Yay! I think it'd be so cool if you could actually talk to me, but if you can't that's fine, I think I'm one of those people that just never shuts their pie hole." Mark gave a growl that sounded like a really deep-throated chuckle, and Jack smiled.

"Here, I'll say something, and you feel my voice box." Jack tapped his throat before lifting his chin up, and Mark gently put his pinky finger over the area to feel the vibrations.

"So this is talking," Jack began to explain. "And what you do is just growl." Jack made his best mimic of the giant's growl, and then continued. "But you could use those growls to form words out of them," Jack suggested. Mark tilted his head and blinked, then opened his mouth and growled.

"Here, press down a little more..." Once Mark's thumb was secure, Jack said a sentence for Mark to repeat. "Hello, my name is Mark." Jack had done his best to keep his accent at bay, but Mark could still only growl. "Hmmm... let's just try hello then."

Jack spent the rest of the storm trying his best to teach the giant to speak, but he made little progress. It was when the storm had finally lifted that the progress was made though. Jack had still been teaching Mark the common human greeting, so he had narrowed it all the way down to a friendly wave and simply just saying "Hi."

"Come on now, we got a little more time left, the storms almost over." Jack waved his hand and said hi, and while Mark waved back he still couldn't utter any human words. Jack sighed and thought for a moment. "... hmm..." Jack looked up at Mark. "Maybe if we started you off with a familiar way of talking, we could smooth the edges down later on," he realized. Mark tilted his head again, he was clearly confused.

"When you do a growl, I want you to go, "Hhhhhhhiiii," Jack commanded. He had started off hi with a low growl that transferred from guttural to a human noise. Mark eyes rounded a little, and he tried.

"Hhhhrr..." he winced and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, his voice still too deep to form the one word properly.

"Come on, you can do it!" Jack encouraged. "Come on, say hi to me! Say hi!" Mark bit his lower lip and then finally managed to do it.

"H-hhhhiiiiiii..." the word had been growled out in a really deep and forced out tone, but Jack was still delighted; he whooped and clapped his hands.

"You did it!" He cheered. "You spoke your first word! Aww now I feel like a parent!" Mark smiled both at Jack's words and at his own small little word. He was so happy that he even said it again, this time it came out a little more akin to the human language. He still had to growl a little to force the word out, but it was progress. He was learning!

Jack was still joyful when they both realized that the rain had finally stopped, and he gave Mark a big grin before he suddenly slid down the giant's muscular arm and started running.

"WHEEEEEEEE!" Jack burst out of the cave and did a spin, letting his arms stick out. "I love nature! Oh it's so pretty out here!" He exclaimed as Mark poked his head out of the cave and blinked in the sunlight. "Look, look! The leaves are all shiny and the sun's out, there's not a cloud in the sky anymore," Jack observed with fascination. "Come on, let's go exploring!" Mark crawled out of the cave and got up as Jack ran off into the jungle. The Irishman was suddenly fueled with undying energy, but luckily Mark caught up to him with a few strides before he could get lost. Jack felt a lot safer in the company of his "little buddy" than when he first entered the shadows of the huge trees, and with Mark standing beside one Jack realized how gargantuan the trees were. At least they gave the giant some nice shade.

"Isn't it so pretty?" Jack looked up at Mark with a grin. Mark smiled back and nodded contently, looking around with a peaceful grin plastered on his face. 

The giant suddenly broke into a run and raced ahead of Jack, who was thrown off by the whip of the wind he had left in his wake before he called out after him and ran after. " 'ey!" Mark kept running, but it wasn't hard to keep track of where he was going from the thundering footsteps. Mark emerged from the trees and skidded to a halt on a cliff that overlooked the beach and vast ocean, and he let out a triumphant roar that seemed to echo across the entire island and over the water. Jack came up behind him, breathing heavily. 

"Whoa..." he stopped in Mark's shadow and looked up. "That was... really loud," he chuckled. Mark looked at him and crouched down, and he gave a happy rumble. Jack climbed up the scratchy denim cloth and onto his thigh, and he sat down to catch his breath.

"... so where should we go next?"


	8. The Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploring with a giant is fun and safe! Nothing could hurt Jack now... right?

The two had decided to continue exploring once they got lunch. Jack had run ahead of Mark and found an interesting tree blossoming with tasty looking fruit, and he was climbing his way up the trunk of the tree to have him some of the  juicy berries. As Jack crawled out onto the limb, he stole a glance down below and saw Mark laying down in the grass and looking up at him curiously. Jack smiled and continued his task, and he soon reached the end of the tree. He gripped the wood under him with a firm fist, while he leaned out with his other hand outstretched, reaching for a little cluster of berries.

"... eeh..." Jack bit his lip and strained a little more, leaning over the open air. "Almost got it. Alllmoooohhhst... Aha!" Jack finally managed to grab the bunch and pluck it off of the tree. "I got it- wh-whohooaa!" Before Jack could regain his balance, he found himself slipping forward, and he fell off of his perch with a yell, only to have a soft landing thanks to Mark and his quick catlike reflexes. "Phew..." Jack shivered in the giant's hands and wiped his brow, sweating a little bit from the close call. "Thanks buddy," he sighed, out of breath.

Mark gave a soft rumble and sat up before he set his hands on the ground, and he opened them up to allow Jack to slide gratefully onto solid ground.

"I got them though." Jack waved the bunch of berries in the air. "Do you know if they're poisonous though? They look ok..." Mark shook his head, and Jack's eyes lit up. "Good!" The human sat in the grass and contently began to eat as Mark laid down on his stomach and rested his chin on his arms. He gave a deep sigh and closed his eyes, drowsy as  he basked in the soothing rays of the sun.

"Mm, these are good," Jack mumbled happily. He glanced over at Mark. "We gotta find you something to eat though... do you eat meat?"

Mark blew a tuft of his hair out of his eyes.

"I guess I'll take that as a yes, considering-" Jack stopped and shuddered. He was about to say, "Since Project 53 ate some of those soldiers in the video," but Mark probably didn't know about how the Koreans had been experimenting to develop the perfect man killing monster. So Jack let his sentence end there and popped another berry in his mouth. He was definitely glad that Mark was nothing like the monsters he had seen in those videos. Mark would never hurt him, he realized that now. He was kind and caring, and he seemed to have a big heart that was just waiting for someone to care about him. He was like a giant teddy bear, but real and alive!

After Jack finished his berries, he looked over at his friend. Mark had slid his arms forward to rest his cheek down in the soft grass, his eyes still closed. His shoulders, Jack now realized as he looked at the giant, were broader than his waist, holding the physique similar to the appearance of a wrestler. The black shirt pointed out the bulging muscles on his arms, and his abdomen was probably flat and hard with strong abs as well. His legs were smaller, but no doubt there was a lot of muscle hidden in those jeans.

And yet, the giant's skin was so smooth and a gold tan like a sculpture of a Greek god, and while at first glance he looked terrifying, on the inside the giant Mark was nothing but a friendly creature. He was just a little lonely and needed some humanely company...

Mark suddenly opened one eye and looked at Jack, his iris reflecting in the sunlight as a rich golden brown. The corners of Jack's mouth curved up in a small smile as he looked back at the giant.

"Ready to keep moving? I'm sure we'll find you something to eat on the way," he asked. Mark rumbled and slowly brought his hands up to his chest, and he pushed himself up off the ground, bringing one knee up under him before he rose to his full height.

"Oh, n-no thanks, I'll just walk this time, if you don't mind," Jack kindly refused when Mark crouched back down and offered his hand as a lift. "There's only so much of heights I can handle before enough is enough." Mark nodded in understanding and got back up, and he let Jack lead the way.

Jack walked as fast as he could without losing oxygen. He didn't want Mark to feel slowed down and get impatient, and he didn't want to look slow in front of his ally and end up back in the air. He didn't know where exactly he was headed, but checking out the mainland appealed to him at the time, so they were headed through the forest.

Every now and then Jack would get a glimpse of some cool dinosaurs in the wild, but they always ended up running off thanks to Mark. Jack was ok with that though, considering he was ok with not becoming dino chow.

"Oooh!" Jack stopped and noticed the long neck of a brachiosaurus through the thick trees. "Mark look!" He called out softly. "My god, I never thought I'd be able to see these guys, wow!" Mark made no noise to avoid ruining Jack's sightseeing, although he did smile in response at Jack's awe. "He's a little taller than you though I think," Jack teased. Mark wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out, making Jack burst into laughter and end up scaring off the giant vegetarian.

The pair continued on their journey, and the deeper in they got the more rocky the terrain became. Then, as Jack pulled back a few large waxy leaves, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Whoa." Ahead of them the jungle gave away to a mountainous world with ancient ruins that enveloped the large rocks, ancient stone and worn down wood everywhere in pillars and paths. Between the rocky mountains and beneath the ruins lay a yawning crevice that seemed to drop all the way down into a cloudy abyss, like a giant gateway to hell. They had reached the center of the island.

"Jesus..." Jack emerged from the bushes and climbed over a rock as Mark poked his head out from between the tree leaves, and his eyes rounded as he gave a nervous rumble.

"Come on!" Jack called, racing ahead. Mark shrank back into the shadows and nervously growled before he hesitantly stepped out of the forest and into the open air. Jack stopped on the edge of a worn down bridge made of wood, and peered over the side of it.

"Ooohhhh gooohhhd no." Jack backed away from the edge and shook his head. "Oh god that's a long way down... oh be careful Mark." Mark sniffed at the bridge warily and tilted his head to the side to look at the chasm below, and he backed away a step with an uncertain whimper.

"Mark?" Jack had reached the other side and turned around. "Come on little buddy! You can do it!" He encouraged. Mark crouched down and gently poked the creaky old wood, then hesitantly began to slowly walk onto it. He made his way step by step, each footstep making the bridge creak and groan under the giant's weight and make Jack cringe with each noise.

"That's it... almost there," Jack coaxed. Mark was a few meters away from the little Irishman when the wood under his feet suddenly gave away and snapped, making Jack gasp in fear as the bridge crumpled. Mark yelped and dove forward, managing to grab onto the rock ledge as the broken bridge fell into the gargantuan crevice.

"Oh Mother of Christ, Mark! Are you ok!?" Jack had his hands balled up in fists and pressed against his cheeks, his eyes wide open in horror as Mark tried to claw up onto the ledge. It took a few kicks before his foot found a hold, and he hauled himself over the edge and onto safety as quickly as possible and collapsed with a huge shaky sigh of relief. Jack finally relaxed once his buddy was safe. "Jesus fucking hell..." Jack ran over to Mark and put his hands on his thumb. "You ok buddy...?" He asked. Mark rumbled and rested his head down, closing his eyes as his shoulders rose and fell with heavy panting. Jack approached the giant and rubbed Mark's neck in his best attempt to help soothe him, but the giant's body heat in turn helped calm his own nerves.

"... you good?" Jack eventually asked when Mark's breathing had calmed down. Mark was silent for a moment, then slowly lifted his head up and gave a low purr. "Yeah." Jack smiled in relief and backed away as Mark slowly got up, and he looked down at Jack before rumbling.

"Alright, let's go, but be careful ok? That was like watching your own child fall off a cliff, jeez..." Jack mumbled half to himself. Mark nodded in agreement, and they continued on.

The ledge ran along the side of the mountain, but unfortunately it had soon narrowed to Jack's width, leaving Mark to take a different rout. Jack glanced back in the middle of his path to see what Mark was doing, but the giant had disappeared.

Then a huge shadow passed over him, making Jack yelp and duck under some pieces of rock as Mark half jumped half climbed his way across the wall of rock. "Holy shit!" Jack exclaimed. "What are ya doing!?" Mark landed nimbly on the rocky platform ahead, and he looked back at Jack before sticking his chin up in a cocky manner with a small smirk.

"Oh you little..." Jack grumbled. "Just you wait till I get over there!" Mark snorted and sat down. He obviously expected the human to take a while.

It wasn't much longer until Jack finally reached Mark, who stared him down until Jack finally rolled his eyes at the giant. "What are you looking at you goofy goober?" He muttered. Mark purred with a grin on his face as he got back up, and the two continued exploring.

"Oooh, what's this?" Jack had perked around a corner to see a large arena area carved in stone. He stood on the wall of it, and stretching up above him was a huge metal mesh with blue wires running horizontally around it.

"The fuck is this?" Jack climbed down the wall to look around. "Is this a cage or something?" He wondered as Mark hid behind the rock. Jack looked up at Mark and sighed sympathetically. "What's wrong Mark? What's wrong buddy?" He asked. Mark whined and pressed against the mountain, cowering. Jack's eyes widened in disbelief at Mark's sudden loss of courage. He seemed afraid of something...

"Why you scared?" He walked around with his arms up. "Look see? No harm. I'm ok. There's nothing wrong." Mark whimpered and crouched down, only half of his face, his arm, and his knee now showing from behind the rock. Jack sighed and let his arms drop.

"Come on Mark... it's ok," Jack coaxed. "It's not gonna hurt you, why don't you just come down here, right beside me?" Mark's brow was furrowed with distressed, and he made another uncertain whimper. "Please buddy?" Jack begged. "Look, it's sturdy ground!" Jack stomped his foot down, and to his surprise the ground suddenly let out a strange ringing noise. Mark jerked back and hid again with a growl, making Jack frown in confusion.

"Why are you scared? Come on, it's ok little buddy!" He called. Mark eventually revealed his face again, and he gave a nervous whine before slowly crawling out of hiding. Jack looked up at the semicircle cage as Mark made his way down. "I wonder what this was used for any-"

A heavy vibration suddenly ran through the air and Jack's body when Mark's feet hit the ground. Jack let out a small yell and covered his ears for a moment, then his eyes widened when he saw Mark slump to the floor.

"Mark!" Jack ran to his giant friend, seeing that he was curled up on the ground with his hand over his ears and his eyes squeezed shut. His teeth were bared in pain, and he was growling and whimpering. "Mark? Mark!" Jack tugged on Mark's shirt to try and get his attention, growing hysteric. He didn't know what was wrong!

The ringing kept getting louder and louder, until suddenly the noise faded into a soft hum that disappeared into the wiring. Mark went limp, his eyes still closed, and Jack scratched the back of his head nervously.

"... Mahrk?" He called out softly. The giant was still breathing normally, but Jack didn't understand what was wrong...

As Jack placed his hands on Mark's nose in hopes of waking him up, Mark's nostrils suddenly flared as he exhaled sharply and ruffled Jack's jacket and hair... but otherwise not moving. "... Mark?" Jack asked hopefully. The giant inhaled slowly, then Jack felt uneasy as Mark gave a deep low growl from within his chest. Jack backed away a couple steps as Mark shifted, and for some reason Jack's muscles were tense. Something didn't feel right...

"M-Mark," Jack tried again. "Buddy...?" The giant was still for a moment, then his eyes opened to look right at Jack. A soft gasp escaped Jack, and his eyes widened in fear.

Mark's irises were now a violent inhuman red.

 

 


	9. Something's Not Right!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack be nimble, Jack be quick!

Jack's blood ran cold, and he slowly backed away as Mark's eyes narrowed. He watched with wide eyes as Mark slowly sat up, his heart beginning to pick up speed.

"Maaaaahhrrrk...?" Jack asked hopefully. Mark growled and stared at Jack for a moment with those red eyes, then started reaching his hand out to snatch the human up. Jack ducked to the side with a yelp and avoided the hand, but he didn't run away. "Mark!" He called out in shock. "Mark what are you doing? What's wrong dude?" Mark growled and slammed his hand into the ground in an attempt to grab the human again, but he instead created another ringing noise that made him whimper and clutch at his head.

Jack took the opportunity to finally turn and run. He didn't know what was wrong with Mark or what he could do to fix it, but he had a feeling that if he didn't hide soon and let Mark calm down then it would be game over for him. Jack didn't know where to go though, until he saw a small crack in the wall. That would work! As Jack ran for it, Mark recovered from the ringing noise and snarled at Jack, going after the Irishman _. Oh god, oh god oh god..._ Just before Jack could go into the wall, a giant hand suddenly slammed down in front of him, making Jack fall back onto his hands and butt with a yell of surprise.

As he got up, familiar fingers slipped around his waist and jerked him up into the air. Jack's heart raced as he squirmed in protest, panicking. But it was no use as he found himself staring into Mark's changed eyes.

He froze with fear before fidgeting and trying to call out to Mark.

"C-come on Mark, it's-it's me! I'm your buddy!" Jack pleaded. "You wouldn't hurt me..." Mark growled darkly at the human, but Jack summoned a weak smile and reached his hand out. "Y-you wouldn't hurt me..." He pressed his hand gently against the tip of Mark's nose, and the giant's lips pulled back in an uncertain snarl. "It's ok buddy... it's ok." Jack gently petted the angry beast, looking back into Mark's eyes and smiling softly. "You're not gonna hurt me," he gently said. "Because you're the kindest and most big hearted guy I know. Just come back bud... y-you don't have to kill me, you just need to let me in. I'm your buddy, not a bad guy..."

Mark was silent for a moment, but then his eyes narrowed as he growled again and jerked Jack closer. Jack braced himself and shut his eyes tightly with a small whimper, but instead of being met with pain he was dropped. Jack landed on the ground with a crack as Mark shrank back, frowning and whining and growling. He seemed torn between Jack's words and what his instincts were trying to make him do. Jack rolled over on his back with a groan and rose to his feet, and he limped to the crack and slipped in as he heard Mark roar in frustration. Panting, Jack slumped against the rock with a moan, and Jack closed his eyes as he heard his friend stomping around and smashing wood and rock, in a frenzy to find Jack.

 _I'm sorry buddy..._ Exhausted, Jack found himself passing out, and he sunk down into a seat before falling unconscious.

 

 

 

 

**This time Jack could see a little more clearly. There was a light swaying on a small chain from the ceiling, and his surroundings were still rocking, but everything had a nice warm golden glow to it. Instead of blue everywhere, there was wood and metal, and Jack felt warm.**

**As he opened his eyes, he turned his head to see a person who felt familiar to him. She had short cute hair and a pretty face, her eyes closed, and she was curled up beside Jack and snuggling his arm and side. At first Jack thought of pushing the person away... but something stopped him. She seemed so... familiar. Was she the girl that was calling out his real name?**

**As he watched, he saw her stir, and her eyes fluttered open. A warm glow fluttered in Jack's chest, and he felt a smile form against his cheeks.**

**"Morning sleepyhead," he heard himself say. The girl smiled and kissed him, surprising Jack. But it felt right, like they had done this before.**

**"Is it still raining?" She asked. Jack's heart fluttered again. Yes. This was her. This was the girl, and this was someone important to him... but who?**

**"Yeah." Jack found himself looking out a window, and as he did so a flash of lightning illuminated the churning world outside. Were they on a boat?**

**"Mm..." the girl closed her eyes and snuggled up against Jack some more. "At least we have some more time together, Sean." There was that name again...**

**"I always spend time with you, Piishu," Jack heard himself tease. The girl giggled and looked up into his bright blue eyes.**

**"Oh? A new nickname?" She asked playfully. Jack smiled as more words tumbled out of his mouth.**

**"Well yeah, I've been working on it all day!" He proclaimed, sticking his chest out a little. The young woman giggled again.**

**"You've been going through so many nicknames, and then I only call you Sean," she commented.**

**"I make names for everything," Jack laughed. Thunder rolled through Jack's memory and made his surroundings rumble, and the girl looked outside and shivered, pressing against Jack for warmth.**

**"I hope we get back home soon," she said wistfully. "I know you got us tickets for this cruise ship, but this storm sure looks scary."**

**"It's ok, I'll protect ya!" Jack cooed, hugging the girl. She smiled and nuzzled him.**

**"I love you Sean." Jack felt himself smile a little more widely.**

**"I love you too Signe."**

 

 

 

 

Jack stirred against the rock as his eyes tiredly opened, and the first breath he sucked in immediately came out in a groan. _Ow... my head is killing me_. Jack rubbed the side of his head and slowly looked outside. Beyond his hiding place with a nighttime, but with a full moon everything had gained a haunting illusion.

... _Mark_... Jack slowly stood up, his body sore and battered as he limped to the crack's entrance and peered outside. Mark was laying down across the arena's floor, on his stomach and unconscious. Shaking, Jack came out of hiding and limped as fast as he could to his buddy, stopping in front of Mark's relaxed face.

"... Mark?" Jack whimpered. He received no response. Worried, Jack hobbled closer and gently nudged Mark's cheek. "Mark.... M-Mark." The giant still didn't wake up. _Oh god... is he...?_ Jack went over to the giant's neck and pressed his hands against his artery, and he put his ear against his warm skin, listening for a moment.

_... ba-bump... ba-bump... ba-bump..._

_He's alive._ Jack sighed shakily in relief and slumped against the giant's jawbone, but he was still scared. Why did Mark's eyes go red? Why did he attack him? How come the ringing hurt him?

Jack shivered and pressed behind Mark's jawline, cold under the stone eye of the moon. He was scared, but he wasn't worried about himself as much as he was for Mark. Was he gonna be ok? Would Mark remember him when he woke up?

 _... Maybe he just needs food!_ Jack suddenly realized. Mark hadn't had anything to eat in probably forever! Not to mention he had almost eaten Jack, but granted Jack knew that the giant wasn't able to help himself. Jack knew it wasn't Mark's fault for feeling the need to attack him. Rather, if anything Jack felt it was his fault, he should have tried to feed Mark some of those berries, or help him hunt down a dinosaur for some meat, or something!

"Just stay right here Mark." Jack gently patted Mark's cheek. "Mama will be right back! I'm gonna go get you some food," he softly proclaimed. He turn and headed into a large corridor that led into the mountain. Cold without his buddy nearby, Jack wrapped his jacket tightly around his body as he ventured along the cold stone hall.

For a moment, Jack managed to summon the dream he had, with its warmth and that women. What did he call her again? Signe...? It sounded so strange and unique, but lovely and familiar! Jack found himself touching his lips as he recalled the kiss they had as well. Was she his girlfriend, or something even more?

Jack suddenly stopped and looked down at his hands. No ring. Either it was lost at sea or they hadn't taken that next step just yet... Jack hoped it was the latter. She would probably be crushed when she found that not only did he remember nothing about her or his life, but also had lost a ring if he had one. Besides, they seemed perfectly happy just where they were.

Jack decided to worry about that all later and continued walking. What mattered to him at the moment was making sure Mark was ok. He still had so many unanswered questions about this island though, that was for sure.

 _I fucking hate this place,_ Jack decided as he explored a sort of cave with grass under his feet. _I mean sure, if it wasn't here I would have died, but there's just so much inhumane history here_! Like why the hell would Mark be made, only for Jack to find the place completely abandoned? What happened on this island, and why did the Koreans leave?

Something suddenly snapped under Jack's foot, and he looked down before jumping back with a noise of alarm. _Jesus fucking hell! I just stepped on a bone!_ Jack regained his nerves and crouched down, and he dug up the rest of the bone. It was old and yellow, brittle. It had been here for a while...

As Jack looked around him, his horror grew to realize that there were all sorts of bones sticking out of the ground and hidden under grass, and he swallowed nervously.

 _Oh god, Is this an animal graveyard?_ Jack stood back up and continued walking, although he watched his step to not crunch on any more bones. Once he passed into another part of the cave, he looked around before noticing a large tree with berry clusters in the corner. But the problem was that it was all the way up on a cliff...

Jack sighed and walked up to the cliffside, and he looked up at the large tree before looking at the wall of soil. He took a deep breath and reached up, and he gripped some vines before hauling himself up and finding a foothold. He began to climb, favoring his good leg as he scaled his way up to the gnarly roots of the tree. As he climbed up onto the tree's base, he felt a warm breeze lightly ruffle his hair... and he stiffened. He stood there for a moment, then silently sucked in a deep breath before slowly turning around.

Stretched across the cliff's grassy platform, was a giant. But not just any giant.

It was Project 53.


	10. There's Another One!?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who saves who now from the hot-headed giant Tyler?

Jack's eyes widened. The giant looked so much bigger in person than in the video. This creature was an absolute beast! His eyes were closed, and fortunately for Jack he was also asleep. But he was soooo big! The scariest thing was that he looked even bigger than Mark!

Jack's heart skipped a beat as he hid behind the tree roots, struggling to keep calm. He still couldn't believe that after all this time, the 53rd project was still alive!? _But the avalanche... I thought it killed him!_ He looked out from behind the tree and scanned the giant up and down. He noticed that his collar was still on, along with the tag... but the leash part of the chain was only a stub. _He must have ripped free from his metal lead_. Jack noticed that the markings on his tag were different, so he took a deep breath before stepping out of hiding.

Jack stiffly limped up to the slumbering beast and peered warily at the metal plaque.

"... Tyler 53," he quietly read. He scratched the back of his head and looked over at the giant's relaxed face. _Clever of those Koreans to choose American names, considering they planned on murdering the Americans._ He hobbled back to the tree and looked up at the closest bunch of berries.

 _Damn... they're so high up!_ Jack pouted and glanced back at Tyler, making sure he was asleep. _Ok... I gotta do this, for Mark. All I gotta do is climb up, get the berries, then climb back down and quietly leave without a fuss! Easy peasy, piece of pie! Mmm... pie..._ Jack's thoughts were playing on their own as he gripped the coarse bark and started climbing up again. He soon draped himself over the lowest branch, breathing heavily. His injured leg felt like it was throbbing, most of the pain in his ankle from his awkward landing. Jack was pretty sure he had broken something and gotten a concussion.

 _It wasn't his fault though,_ Jack reminded himself. _I sure hope he'll be ok... I shouldn't be so selfish next time._ Jack picked himself back up and held on to the branch above him, and he traversed the narrow tree limb and approached the berries. Reaching up, he grabbed the small bushel and stuffed it in his pockets. He pulled the branch down and reached up for another bunch, and he continued gathering some food.

Jack had continued climbing and gathering until his pockets were full with berries, and Jack decided that he had enough for Mark to eat. He gripped his branch and lowered himself onto the tree trunk, and he started making his way back down. When he reached the bottom, he dropped down onto the grass, wincing as he put pressure on his injured leg.

"Ow," Jack muttered under his breath. He limped over to the where he had climbed up, and lowered himself over the edge, and he began to make his way to the cave floor. What he didn't notice though, was that Tyler was gone.

 _Ok._ Jack finally made it to the ground, and he patted his pockets to make sure he had his berries. Let's get the fuck out of here. He hobbled his way across the cozy cave and exited out through the animal graveyard cave. Once he was back into the ancient stone corridor, he saw that Mark was still unconscious and sighed in worry. _Poor Mark... I hope he's gonna be ok. But I got some food, so hopefully that'll wake him up and put him in a better mood._

"Hey buddy," he softly called out as he came out into the open. "I got you some-" the ground suddenly shook as something big suddenly landed behind Jack, making him fall over with a yell. Jack groaned in pain and turned over, his eyes widening as a shadow stretched over him.

Tyler was standing over him, his teeth bared in a snarl and his eyes a cold frightening silver; they were an odd color, like Mark's had been after the ringing noise. His grey shirt was tattered and looked in need of mending, and his jeans had tears in them. His hair was messy and unkempt, adding to the wild look the giant had as he gave a low growl and stared down at Jack hungrily.

Jack gasped and backed away, quickly getting up and stumbling back a few steps. Tyler growled again, and when he took a step forward Jack turned and ran as fast as he could. He ducked when the giant roared, but he didn't stop running until he reached Mark.

"Mark!" Jack shouted desperately, shaking his hand. He whimpered in alarm as Tyler stiffly walked closer to the human, although he was eyeing Mark suspiciously and keeping his distance. "Please buddy, wake up!" Jack pleaded, pushing against Mark's cheek. The giant still didn't wake.

Jack turned and looked at Tyler helplessly as the giant came closer. Trembling, Jack shrank back against Mark and squeezed his eyes shut, his body tense with fear as Tyler growled again.

Then Jack's eyes shot open as he heard a deep growl from behind him. He fell forward as Mark shifted behind him, and he looked up to see that his giant buddy had woken up.

 _Mark!_ Jack's eyes were wide as Mark slowly sat up, and the giant was frowning before he looked down at Jack. Then his eyes widened in relief, and he gave a low rumble and lowered his head, looking straight down at Jack.

"U-uh..." Jack looked at Tyler, seeing that the taller giant had stopped and stared at Mark. Mark followed Jack's gaze and looked up at Tyler, and he stared for a moment before letting out a low territorial growl. Tyler's eyes narrowed as he too growled back, while Mark remained crouched over Jack. Jack whimpered softly and backed away from Tyler, hiding behind Mark's arm.

Tyler suddenly tensed and snarled loudly, and Mark chest heaved as he roared back, making Jack cover his ears. His eyes widened as he watched Mark get up, and the giant stepped between Jack and Tyler, glaring at the other giant.

Jack backed away as watched with wide eyes, worried for his friend. _Oh god don't fight... don't hurt him Tyler!_ Jack's hands clenched into fists, but he knew that he was helpless; there was nothing he could do to stop this.

Tyler snarled at Mark and tried to walk past him to get to Jack, but Mark placed himself between the two as a wall of muscle, glaring at Tyler. Tyler snapped his teeth at Mark, trying to get him to back off, but Mark hissed and didn't budge. Then he suddenly snarled and charged, tackling Tyler head on and throwing him to the ground. Jack was frightened by the collision as the ringing started again, and Mark bellowed as he gripped his head. Tyler got up and took the opportunity to throw Mark against the wall, and Mark crumpled to the ground. Tyler huffed and looked over at Jack, who swallowed nervously and limped a step back, his eyes darting between the two giants as Tyler took a step toward the Irishman.

Mark slowly lifted his head up and pushed himself up, getting back up behind Tyler. Tyler stopped and growled as he heard the giant get up, and he turned back around to face him. Mark blinked hard before he gave a deep rumble, staring at Tyler with his eyes now red.

 _Oh god... what do I do!?_ Jack was frozen in place as the two giants came at each other and fought again, pushing and clawing at one another like human men fighting in an alley. _I gotta help Mark! But I'll get squashed!_ Mark shoved Tyler away and punched him in the gut. Tyler roared and recoiled, kicking Mark in the abdomen and throwing him on his back. Jack wrung his hands anxiously as he softly hissed, "Come on Mark, get up! Kick his ass!"

As Mark tried to get back up, Tyler brought his foot to his opponent like kicking a soccer ball, and he sent Mark sprawling. Mark groaned and rolled over on his back, gripping his side. He tried to sit up, but Tyler didn't back down. He lashed his hand out and clawed Mark's arm, ripping his sleeve as Mark roared in pain and fell back down to the ground. Tyler stood over Mark and raised his hand in a fist, ready to strike the giant again when Jack suddenly screamed, "STOP IT! STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

Jack was quivering as he watched Tyler turn to look at him, and he looked back down at Mark, who was curled up and gripping his arm, panting heavily. Tyler's arm slowly dropped, and he turned to look at Jack. Jack swallowed nervously as the giant walked over him, and he was shaking as Tyler crouched down in front of him. He flinched when Tyler's hand came out at him, and he stumbled back as the giant pushed him with the back of his knuckle. He was favoring his good leg as he was nudged again, and he fell over on his back and elbows. Tyler growled softly and picked Jack up by the back of his jacket, and Jack's breath quickened as he found himself eye level with the angry giant.

"D-don't..." Jack whimpered. "Don't hurt him, l-leave him alone. Please..." Jack swallowed before he suddenly burst out, "Hurt me instead! He didn't do anything wrong!" Jack fidgeted as Tyler's eyes narrowed. "I'm the one who trespassed!" Jack shouted, tearing up with fear. "He didn't do anything wrong! You want someone to blame for what the Koreans did to you? Blame me!" Tyler growled and held Jack closer, making the human tense up and squeeze his eyes shut with a frightened whimper. He felt Tyler sniff him curiously, then he looked over at Mark and growled softly. Mark had sat up with his hurt arm in his other, staring at Tyler with fear in his eyes. His irises had faded back to their normal brown, and he looked at the other giant with his heart racing in terror for his little pal.

Tyler rumbled and looked back at Jack, who had relaxed a little bit and looked up at him with wide eyes. The giant had smelled Mark's scent all over the Irishman... but why was he still alive? Why would Mark try to protect a scrawny little human when it was humans that had corrupted them?

Jack cried out as he was suddenly engulfed in Tyler's fist, and Mark snarled as Tyler walked to the edge of the arena and looked down before spotting a large river that cascaded into the ravine. He then lifted his hand out, and he dropped Jack into the river. Jack screamed as he hit the water with an inaudible plop, and Tyler watched with no remorse as Jack struggled in the currents, but he was completely powerless in the strong rush of water.

Tyler grunted as he was suddenly pushed aside, and he looked with surprise to see Mark dive into the water without a second thought. Mark surfaced with a gasp of air and paddled after Jack, who was being tossed around in the large seething body of water. Jack saw that Mark had dived in after him, and he tried to keep on the surface. But the churning river instead threw Jack back under, and Jack was slammed against a rock. Jack's eyes widened in pain as bubbles escaped his lips, then his eyelids drooped and closed as he fell unconscious. Mark gasped in a huge breath and dove under, and he managed to grab the green haired man in a fist and resurfaced. He gasped out a few quick breaths as he shook his head to get his wet hair out of his eyes, then dug his heels into the riverbed and stopped drifting in the current... leaving him staring down the waterfall.

Mark rumbled nervously and held his fist to his chest, holding Jack close as he kicked to the side of the river. He threw his arm up onto the soft grass beside the river, and he dragged himself out of the river and rolled over onto his back, breathing heavily. He closed and opened his eyes, and slowly relaxed his fist and he lifted his head up to look down at Jack. He whined worriedly when he saw that the human was immobile, and he sat up and peered closely at him. He gently nudged Jack, whimpering when he didn't respond. He looked around before seeing Tyler still standing by the river, looking at Mark with confusion. Why? Why would Mark risk his life to save a human's? The silver eyes faded to a regular brown, and Tyler tilted his head, looking back at Mark. Mark watched him for a few seconds before focusing on Jack again.

Jack came to after Mark rolled him over on his back and pushed his finger down on his chest a few times. Jack flailed before jerking over on his side, and he retched up some water over the side of the giant's hand. Mark lit up with relief, and he growled softly as Jack flopped back down on his stomach, his arms dangled over the edge as he heaved in deep breaths. Mark quietly rubbed his friend's back, purring softly. He glanced at the waterfall before looking upstream again, seeing that Tyler had left. He vocalized a low noise and laid down on his side, setting Jack down beside him. Jack stirred and feebly coughed, and he dragged himself a little closer to Mark, pressing against his chest, shivering.

Mark put his hand over Jack and let out a vocal yawn, then rested his head down as the two took a moment to recover from the close call.

 


	11. Stargazers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markimoo likes being able to see the stars, but how long do you reckon he'll get to enjoy them?

Jack twisted his shirt and squeezed the last of the water out of it, the fire hissing as drops fell onto the hot wood.

"Well, today was sure one hell of a day," Jack said, looking up at Mark. The two had made their way back down to the beach, and Jack had started a fire so that they could dry their clothes and keep warm. It was nighttime, and Mark had quickly gathered some wood for the two to make the large fire and huddle up beside it for warmth, with Jack shirtless and trying to get his shirt dry, and Mark staring at the fire.

Mark had never seen a proper fire before, so he had almost touched the flames before Jack had warned him to not burn himself, leaving Mark to watch the fire with wide eyes of wonder. The flames on Jack's torch back in the cave had been way too small for Mark to burn himself with, let alone see the tiny flames dancing in a tango of light against the darkness, so he was still fascinated by the element.

Jack got up and walked around to Mark, seeing that his arm was still badly injured.

"Hey Mark, take off your shirt," Jack told him as he put his own shirt back on and set his crutch down beside his jacket. His makeshift crutch was a sturdy piece of wood Mark had broken from a branch for the human, and while his leg and head still hurt like hell, Jack was grateful for it. Mark turned and looked at Jack, and he gave a low growl of confusion.

"We gotta clean that wound up," Jack explained, limping over to some supplies they had gathered. Jack bent over and grabbed some leaves that, according to Mark's intuition, had healing components that Jack had asked for. "Besides, there's some blood on it, and it needs to dry properly." Mark looked at his arm before tugging on his shirt, then hesitantly lifted his arms up and pulled his shirt off. Jack was crushing the leaves into his hand, and he carried the poultice over to his giant friend.

"Alright, lay down." Mark laid down and folded his arms out in front of him, showing Jack his wounds. "Ugh." Jack wrinkled his nose and set his spare leaf down. "He got you good." Mark scrunched his nose up and whined as Jack smeared the leaf juice over his wound. "Oh, I know, I know it hurts," Jack coaxed. "I know buddy, you're gonna be fine though. You were really brave going and fighting him. And then when he tossed me in the water!" Jack swung his head up at Mark. "You fucking saved my life, again. What's that, like... the fifth time you've saved me?"

Mark gave a small shrug.

"Ah well, doesn't matter." Jack looked up at Mark again. "Point is, buddy... thanks. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. I don't know how many times I would have died if you weren't there for me, and then I went and fucked you over by making you vulnerable, so... thanks for putting up with me, I guess is what I'm trying to say." Jack cleared his throat and focused on the cut once more, only to be nudged by a nuzzle on the head. He was surprised, then smiled.

"Awwww... you're such a teddy bear!" Jack said cheerfully. Mark purred and nuzzled his friend again, and Jack giggled with his arms out. "Hey, careful, I've got leaf juice all over my hands!" Mark shifted back into a comfortable position as Jack went over to the ocean and washed his hands, and then he came back as Mark sat up and checked on his shirt. As he did so, the Irishman noticed some scars around his navel and frowned.

"... where did you get those scars?" He asked curiously. Mark stiffened and pulled away from the fire, hunching over and folding his arms over his abdomen with a small whine. "Can I see them?" He gently asked with a soft smile, seeing that Mark was shy about them. Mark hesitated for a moment, thinking, then hesitantly nodded and returned to the bonfire. He laid down on his side as Jack came over and looked at the markings up close.

The first scar he noticed was the biggest, it was a long one that ran from the bottom of the giant's ribcage down between his abs and through his belly button, and stopped just above his jeans. The others were smaller incisions, but they all looked rather well healed.

"Wow... why do you have these?" Jack wondered with awe, gently touching one of the scars. Mark gave the Irishman an uncertain whine and shrugged meekly, and Jack pulled away. "Well, I think they're cool," he encouraged. Mark rumbled and sat back up, shaking his head to reassemble his hair. Jack smiled and hobbled back over to his crutch and jacket, and he took them both as Mark checked on his shirt again.

"Whoa..." Jack had looked up at the night sky. "Hey Mark, look." Mark looked up at the sky, and his eyes widened with fascination. Stretching above the two were the mystical swirls of the starry sky, each tiny speck a glittering jewel in the nighttime canvas. Mark gave a soft purr as Jack limped over to his buddy, and he leaned against his wrist as he looked up with Mark.

"Isn't it pretty?" Jack smiled. "Nature may be deadly, but I think it's beautiful..." Jack trailed off and frowned. "I hope before I forgot my memories I appreciated simple things like this." Mark blew a warm breath of air on Jack, making the green haired man chuckle.

"Yeah, I hope to god I wasn't an asshole or anything in the past," he pondered with amusement in his voice. Mark smiled and lowered his head, and Jack gently hugged the giant on the nose.

"When someone comes and saves me, do you wanna come with me?" Jack asked, looking Mark in the eye. "I'm sure people would be surprised by your size... but hell, once they would get to know you, I bet they'd welcome ya!" Mark tilted his head and growled curiously. "Yeah... I'm not sure where I came from, or who the hell I was before, but I won't let anyone hurt you," Jack promised. "I'll tell them all about how you saved my life, and how you're really nice and fluffy!" Mark purred and nuzzled Jack, making him giggle and smile back.

"Yeah..." Jack looked at the large fire and sighed, and he sat down in the sand and slumped against Mark's hand with a yawn. "I'm worried if someone misses me... which, I have a feeling, that somebody does," he murmured with his eyelids drooping in exhaustion. Mark shifted his hand and gently picked Jack up, and he set him down on his thigh. Jack yawned again and laid his head down.

"Oh well... I'm sure things will start to look up..." he said drowsily. Mark purred softly and looked back up at the stars as Jack slowly slipped into unconsciousness, and he fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

**This dream was different than his other ones. Jack found himself walking in a lush valley, following a crystal river through the trees. The trees were normal sized, and the river was small and peaceful.**

**Jack looked down at his clothes. He was wearing his jeans still, but instead of the black jacket he had on a red hoodie, and he had a band on his wrist. He stopped walking and peered in the water. His reflection stared back at him like a mirror, but as Jack looked he noticed that his reflection was a little different. The mirage had glasses on that framed his bright baby blue eyes, and his hair was a lot neater and clean. He wore what looked like a business suit, a black one to contrast his pale skin.**

**"Huh..." Jack frowned and turned his body, getting a good look at himself. Then he looked up from the river and continued walking. Dandelions spotted a little meadow in front of him, and a breeze made them dance and sway in the wind before their seeds broke away and were swept up into the air. Jack looked around at them all as he continued walking, awe in his eyes as he followed the river.**

**When he emerged from the trees, Jack saw a house in the distance. It sat on the beach of an ocean with bright cyan waters and soft light sand, and the river dwindled to the side before pouring into the salty body of water. Jack walked to the house and tried to open it, but the door was locked.**

**_Is there a key? Where are ya key?_ Jack looked under the steps and found a silver key with the handle shaped in an elegant heart. He tried to reach for it, but it was just beyond his fingertips. Jack frowned and tried again.**

**As he groped for the key, the world around him began to darken. The waves started to roll and pick up height, rising and falling, and the sky darkened with churning clouds that began to roll in. Jack didn't notice until he finally grabbed the key, and he looked up as thunder clapped, and it began to rain.**

**Jack scrunched his nose up as he was quickly soaked by the rain, and he ran up to the door and tried the lock. The rain was very loud in his ears, and Jack struggled with the lock until the door finally swung open with an eerie creak. Another boom of thunder made the air vibrate with energy, and Jack quickly sprinted inside, and closed the door behind him. When the door cut him off from the light and shrouded him in darkness, however, was when he woke up.**

 

 

 

 

He was cold. Jack could hear muffled noises that were loud and hurt his ears, and he heard the sound of rain. He felt himself being carried, and he heard shouting. Then he heard a muffled roar from Mark, and his heart quickened as he began to wake up properly.

"Come on men, tie it down!" Someone shouted from what sounded like close but far away at the same time. "Get it under control!" Jack's eyelids were heavy as he slowly opened his eyes. He saw familiar shapes racing past him, and he recognized Mark as the giant bellowed again. Jack blinked, then his eyes widened as his senses finally came to.

"NO!" Jack screamed, twisting and kicking. There were men here! People! But they were tying Mark up! There were people carrying Jack away to a helicopter, while the others were dressed in camo outfits and trying to get the giant under control. It was raining hard, and it was morning, smoke simmering from the fire that had gone out.

"MARK!" Jack screamed again, trying to get out of the peoples' arms.

"He's awake!" Someone exclaimed.

"Get a sedative in him!" Another yelled. "He's delirious!"

"No, no! Get away from me!" Jack hollered, trying to get off the stretcher. Someone grabbed his arm and held him down, and they injected him despite Jack's protests.

"N-n-no..." Jack grew drowsy and relaxed against his will. "S-stop..."

"It's ok sir, you're safe now!" Someone else assured as they carried Jack into the helicopter. Jack moaned and tried to reach out to Mark, watching in a transfixed horror as one of the men fired a dart gun at the giant. Mark froze when the dart embedded itself in his skin, and his eyelids drooped as he immediately felt the effects. He slowly let his head rest on the ground, his mouth hanging open as he slowly gasped in breaths, fighting to stay awake under the series of ropes and netting that pinned him to the ground.

"M-Mark..." Jack whispered as the helicopter started up. The aircraft soon lifted off the ground, and Jack could no longer keep his eyes open. His arm went limp as his eyes slid shut, and he blacked out.

 


	12. S.O.S

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to civilization Jack! Do you remember your friend the Swedish meatball? Have you begun to piece your past back yet? Where's Mark?

Jack's eyes slowly opened to a bright white ceiling. He stared up for a moment before closing his eyes again, gritting his teeth as the familiar pounding in his head returned to him. He realized there was a beeping sound, and he could hear someone talking. He opened his eyes again and slowly lifted his head up, groaning.

The voices immediately stopped, and Jack jumped in surprise when he felt a hand gently grab his shoulder.

"Hey Jack," a male voice greeted. "How ya feeling dude?" Jack turned to look at the owner of the voice. The man had blond hair and blue eyes, along with a little bit of a beard forming on his jawline. Beside him was a pretty Italian girl with brown hair and brown eyes, and they were both dressed lavishly.

"... who are you?" Jack asked. The man winced and ran his hand through his hair.

"Oh, right... the doc said you probably would have amnesia. He said you got hit in the head really hard." He looked at Jack. "You really don't remember me though? How dare you!" He joked. Jack realized that the man was Swedish as he spoke. He felt familiar, but he really didn't remember the blonde, which made his cheeks go pink with guilt.

"Felix!" The Italian girl gently chided. "He's been missing for an entire week, give him a break!"

"No it's ok Marzia, he knows I'm joking," Felix assured, waving his hand.

"But he's been lost and confused with no memory," Marzia anxiously protested. "Signe was worried sick!"

_Signe..._

"Yeah..." Felix's energy faded as he grew sympathetic. "She thought you died Jack, she was really depressed man."

"Oh, Signe is your girlfriend Jack, do you remember her?" Marzia added. Jack gave them a blank stare; it was just so much to take in...

"N-no," Jack croaked. "I-I just remember waking up on a life raft, and then there was this island, and it had a t rex and-" Jack's eyes widened, and he sat up. "Oh my god, Mark!"

"Huh? Who's Mark? Is that your Wilson?" Felix teased.

"No don't get out of bed Jack!" Marzia pleaded as the stubborn Irishman pulled himself out of the bed. "You need to rest!"

"No!" Jack gripped the bed frame, shaking. "Where's Mark!?"

"Who the fuck is Mark!?"

"Guys, guys, just calm down..." Marzia nervously asked. "Just take a deep breath please?" Jack shuddered and pressed his hand against his head, clenching his eyes shut.

"Where's my jacket?"

"What?"

"Where is my jacket!?"

"It's on the bed post behind you-" Jack pulled off the equipment and let it drop to the floor, and he turned and limped to his jacket and put it on over his hospital gown.

"Jack!" Felix exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"I need to find him!" Jack ignored their protests and hobbled out of the room, but he ended up flat on his face three steps out of the door.

"Hey, I need help here!" A nurse called out, running over to Jack. Jack backed away from her as soon as she pulled him up, keeping his distance from her.

"Thanks," he said briefly before he continued limping.

"Sir! You need to come back to your room!" She tried to call, but Jack ignored her. He only made it a little further before two more nurses came, and they grabbed Jack and held him in place.

"Let me go!" Jack shouted. "I need to leave!" This resulted in a domestic disturbance that ended up with Jack pinned on the floor and someone giving him a depressant. He was soon too weak to fight back, and had no choice but to be dragged back into his room and put back to bed.

Felix and Marzia watched them drag Jack in his room and put him in his bed, and then Marzia shyly spoke up as they reconnected him to the machines.

"Will he be ok?" She quietly asked.

"Yes," one of the nurses answered, "If he's stubborn enough to get out of this bed and make it halfway down the hall all by himself, then he'll be ok." As they tucked Jack back under the covers, the doctor entered the room.

"CT scans came," he said.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Felix asked hopefully.

"Well... I already showed you the MRI scan, where he has a fractured bone in his leg, but as for his head..." The doctor handed the papers to Felix, and he shifted through them. "He's undergone massive pressure and repeated blows to the head."

"Are you saying he was attacked?" Marzia asked, her eyes wide.

"Not necessarily. Mr. McLoughlin may have gone through different scenarios where he hit his head, like for example you told me that Signe said he got himself hit in the head while the ship took on water. But with all those bruises and scratches over his body... there could be evidence pointing towards assault. It's a possibility, but it's unlikely."

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Felix asked. "How long do we have to wait until he's up and about?"

"Physically? Give it a few months and he'll be able to run around again. As for his memories... I'm not sure," the doctor admitted.

"You're not sure?" Felix echoed. "You're a goddamn doctor for fucks sake! What do you mean you don't know!?"

"Felix, language..." Marzia quietly said. "You're getting yourself all upset."

"I am sorry Mr. Kjellberg," the doctor apologized. "But your best bet is that you prepare for the worst in case he never recovers. Just try to reintroduce him to his life..." He sighed. "I can't imagine what he went through. From a sinking ship to a stranded island, with no memories of those close to you. It must have been very hard on him, I know it was hard on the public."

"Yeah, it is," Felix agreed dryly, stiffly handing back the papers. The doctor nodded and left the room with the nurses following, and the two were left alone with the lethargic castaway.

Jack was breathing heavily as he tried to move, but it took all of his energy just to keep his eyes open.

"Alright, how about this, bro." Felix sat down beside Jack. "If you stay here, and you rest up, just-just give it a week, and we'll get you out of here so you can find this Mark guy, ok?" He offered. Jack looked at the man before closing his eyes and slowly nodding, and Felix nodded back.

"Alright... you need anything? Water? Coffee? A sandwich?"

"... water please," Jack mumbled.

"Alright." Felix got up and left, and Jack rested his head back with a heavy sigh. He couldn't wait to get out of here already, he had to find out what the hell happened to Mark. Was it the military that had taken him away? It looked like it...

"... How did they find me?" Jack asked out loud.

"A man was flying a drone over the ocean to do research when he saw some smoke," Marzia answered quietly. "Better yet, I reckon you're on tv." She picked up the remote and turned the tv on, and the next section of today's news started.

"Thanks Jason," the news anchor was saying. "Now it was a little over a week ago that the millionaire Sean William McLoughlin had disappeared after a "cruise for charity" trip had gone wrong, leaving millions of fans around the globe terrified of what had happened." Visual feedback from a small aircraft came onto the screen, showing a trail of smoke in the sky above the ocean. "It was just yesterday morning that a researcher discovered a strange line of smoke, only to discover this." Jack's eyes widened as he saw himself and Mark sleeping beside the dying fire.

"What is that thing?" Marzia asked with wide eyes as the news droned on about how the navy came in quickly and "safely saved Sean."

"That's him! That's him!" Jack pointed at the screen. "That's Mark!" He exclaimed. Marzia looked at Jack, puzzled.

"Huh?"

"Yeah! I mean, he's a giant, but he's actually nice!" Marzia glanced at the screen again, which was showing Mark's attempts to escape the ropes as the soldiers fought to get him to cooperate.

"Are you sure?" She asked quietly. "He looks pretty scary..."

"He saved me life!" Jack protested. "More than once, in fact, and- wait did she say I'm a millionaire!?" Marzia nodded.

"Yeeeaah...?" Jack's eyes rounded.

"So people actually gave a shit when I disappeared?" He wondered. Marzia nodded again. Jack slumped back in his bed, tired from his outburst, and he sighed. "God... how worried did they get?" He asked.

"Really worried... they started saying their goodbyes three days after the cruise ship almost went down, it was really depressing." Jack looked over at Marzia.

"What was I doing on a cruise ship?" He asked. "That sounds a little arrogant for me."

"You were doing it for a charity run," The Italian girl explained. "You gave nine hundred thousand dollars to a charity program for starving children, and you did the cruise to make vlogs so that you could travel down into South America to one of their homeless houses... but you never made it there." Marzia pulled her phone out and pulled something up before handing it to Jack.

"This was your last vlog before you were stranded." Jack took the phone and looked at it. The tab was on YouTube, on a video called "THERE BE PIRATES IN THESE WATERS."

"... Jacksepticeye?" He read. "What kind of a name is that?"

"A famous one?" Jack clicked on the video, only to jump when a loud "WA-POOSH" met his ears.

"Top of the morning to ya laddies my name is Jacksepticeye, and ooohhh!? Where are we!? Where are we? Well, we are here, on that big old cruise ship I told you guys about!" Jack stared in awe as Felix came back into the room, and the Swedish man was shushed by Marzia before he could announce his presence.

It... it was him. But not him... but him. Jack didn't remember doing this, but it was him, it was his voice and his hair, and his body. The Irishman was appalled. He didn't know what to think, but it sounded exactly like him. He continued watching.

"So first things first, before I give you guys a tour of this place, um, I just wanna thank you guys so much for hitting one billion subscribers, I mean Jesus Christ that's a tenth of the entire world population! I can't thank you guys enough for all of the amazing support you have given me and each other, and without you guys I wouldn't be here... so thank you." The video continued on after a wholehearted "thank you" speech to show off the lovely ship with commentary that felt familiar to him.

"I-I still can't..." Jack trailed off, staring at the screen.

"Well, it's true." Felix set down the water bottle beside Jack so he could drink it later. "We're both YouTubers, it's what we do for a living, we entertain people across the world. You always took it way more seriously than I did though. I always just made dick jokes and shit, but you reached into people's hearts and loved them all." Jack looked up at Felix.

"How many subs do you have?" He asked curiously.

"Three times as much as you." Felix shrugged. "But it's not the numbers that matter, at least that's what you always told me."

"Sounds about right..." Jack skipped ahead a little in the video and kept watching.

"And here is where me and my girlfriend are gonna stay," Past Jack continued, opening a door. A shiver ran down Jack's spine as he saw the lavish bedroom. He had seen that room before! "It's really nice isn't it? We've got the newest wireless technology and an early exclusive release of the holograph tv screen, pretty sick am I right?" Past Jack continued on until a girl walked into view that made Jack's chest clench.

"Oh, say hi to the camera Signe." Signe shyly waved, smiling. "Yeah, this ship costed an absolute fortune," Past Jack chuckled. "We're very grateful the president actually rented this for us to help us support the charity, we've got all the newest stuff here. What I think we'll do is, when we get to uh, Nicaraga? Is that- is that how you say it?" Past Jack looked at Signe. "I was able to say it before, how do you say it again?"

"Nicaragua," Signe corrected.

"Oh yeah, there we go!" He laughed and ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry guys, I'm not good at anything Spanish related, I only know some Irish, Korean and Swedish as you guys know, thanks to Felix, that jävla fitta." Jack couldn't help but chuckle at this, which caught Felix's attention.

"You still understand that?" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, I sure had a great sense of humor," Jack giggled. Felix in turn muttered some more Swedish curses, making Marzia giggle. Jack smiled and handed her back her phone. "Well it seems I had a pretty good life," he sighed.

"You still do," Felix reminded. "You just need some time to heal up, and you'll remember all the great times we've had." Jack smiled at this, but then his smile fell.

"... But Mark-"

"Hey, I said that we'd get you to him as soon as you're healed up enough to leave the hospital, alright?" Felix grabbed Jack's shoulder and gently shook it. "I'll put a word in to make sure nothing bad happens," he promised. Jack gave a weak smile.

"Thanks ya Swedish meatball," he joked. Felix grinned.

"See? You're already starting to sound like your old self!"


	13. Homesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who else thinks Septiishu is adorable and one of the cutest couples on Youtube?

A week could not possibly come soon enough for Jack. For seven days he sat in that stupid bed, resting half of the time and using the rest of the hours to watch his videos. It felt strange for Jack to watch his own content like an unsuspecting viewer, having no idea who exactly Jacksepticeye was, but he wanted to reconnect with his old self.

But with each video passed time, and with each hour that passed Jack grew more acquainted with his past life. Apparently he was a millionaire who gave lots of money to the poor and the needy, and according to his subscribers he had a huge heart and "sexy eyes," which Jack chuckled at. But he was glad that he had been a good person, and he hoped to be able to continue inspiring others. Many comments said that they loved Jack and that he was such an amazing person, and it made the Irishman's chest glow warmly and get misty eyes.

It was on the seventh day that he was watching another one of his vlogs when his nurse came in.

"Sean, you have a visitor." Jack looked up, and he dropped Marzia's phone as he stared at the visitor.

"H-hi Sean." Signe looked back to watch the nurse leave, then looked back at her boyfriend and shyly kept her distance. Jack stared for a moment before he gave her a smile.

"H-hey Piishu," he weakly joked. Relief lit up in the girl's eyes, and she shyly came over to him and sat down at his side.

"H-how are you feeling?" She asked quietly. Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"I've been better... I think." Signe blinked a few rapid times, forcing herself to keep smiling.

"Do you... remember anything?" She asked hopefully. Jack was quiet for a moment.

"... I remember a little bit about you," he admitted. "I remember telling you that I love you, and that I would protect you from the storm." Signe covered her mouth to stifle a sob and nodded, tears welling in her kind eyes.

"Y-you did," she cried. "You said you would keep me safe, but instead I failed to keep you safe! When the ship got hit you were taken away from me, and there was a hole in the wall and-and-" Jack took Signe's hands and gently squeezed her.

"It's ok," he whispered. "It's ok, I'm ok, I just got a little hit in the head that's all..." Signe sniffled.

"B-but I saw the-the scans, y-you broke your leg and strained a tendon," she wept. "And-and then those bruises and scratches, and-and then I saw that monster on the news! It was so close to you, and it could have killed you!" Jack bit his lip.

"N-no, actually," he gently corrected. "That "monster" is actually my friend." Signe looked at him with confusion in her eyes.

"H-huh? But the news said-"

"I don't care what the news said, please Signe listen to me." Jack sat up and looked the young women in the eye. "He saved me life. If it wasn't for him, I'd be dead. All this time he protected me, he kept me safe! He's not a monster, he's my friend." Signe was silent for a moment, and Jack added, "I'll tell you what, today is my last day here in the hospital. When I get out, Felix is gonna take me to see Mark, and when he does I want you to come with me, and then you'll see that he's not bad. You'll all see that he's harmless!" Signe hesitated before answering.

"... o-ok," she agreed. Jack smiled in relief and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you," he murmured. Signe nodded, and they hugged each other tightly and sat there together in the silence.

 

 

 

 

Jack impatiently tapped his fingers against his crutches as he watched the three sign the papers for his release. He had to sign a few papers to consent and shit, but finally after what felt like forever he was permitted to leave. He said goodbye to the front desk lady and followed his friends out of the hospital, and he squinted before his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight.

All around them were gargantuan sky scraping buildings, people and cars milling in the streets and sidewalks like ants in the rain. In front of the hospital was a vast parking lot stocked with cool looking cars, and the sky above was a grey blue with the sun shining high above.

Jack's jaw was dropping as he stared at his surroundings, astounded as his friend's led him to a sleek black car that, according to the brand on the side of the car, was a Lamborgharri; it was also "eco friendly," meaning that it was solar powered.

"Come on, I'll drive for you since you can't." Felix got in the driver's seat as Jack stared at the expensive car.

"This is mine!?" He exclaimed.

"Yep," Felix pulled out some sunglasses and put them on as Marzia and Signe got in the backseat, and Jack couldn't help but touch the shiny hood of the car.

"Good lord...!" he muttered. He hobbled to the car door and managed to get in, and Felix turned on the engine as Jack buckled up. The engine came to life with a ferocious roar before humming, and they pulled out of parking before heading onto the road and getting onto the highway.

Jack stared outside the window the entire time as rock music blared from the stereo, taking in the city with wide eyes.

"What city is this called?" He asked Felix.

"This is Los Angeles!" Felix answered. "One of the most densely populated areas."

"Wow..." Jack's head was spinning as he looked out at all of those people and buildings they passed by. It was all such a blur... how could he have forgotten so much!?

The rest of the drive gave Jack a wonderful view on this giant city, blessing his sight with such a big community. It made Jack sad to think about how much he had forgotten, but he hoped that he could one day recover his memories.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't realize they had arrived at the military base until Felix tapped his shoulder.

"We're here." Jack opened the car door and looked out. The base was absolutely gigantic, certainly big enough to safely hold a giant captive. Jack stared up at the base as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car with the others, and he looked back down to shamble after Felix, who was headed to the entrance. Two soldiers stood at the reinforced door, and they grew alert as the group arrived.

"Hello Mr. Kjellberg, Mr. McLoughlin," the older one greeted. "What brings you here today?"

"Jack wants to see the monster you guys saved him from," Felix answered. The younger one looked at Jack with surprise.

"Why?" He asked. "It almost killed you!" Jack gripped his crutches tightly to not answer.

"Nevermind that." Felix saved Jack from answering. "Are you going to let us in or do we have to call your commander?" The two looked at each other before stepping to the side.

"Of course not Mr. Kjellberg," the older one said. "Right this way sir."

"Thanks." Felix went up to the door and pushed in a code, then leaned down and a laser scanned his eye. He then stepped to the side for Jack to do the same, which Jack felt uncomfortable with. Signe helped him bend over so he could get his eye scanned, and then she and Marzia did the same. The light switched on green, and Jack gave a quiet sigh of relief as the door opened.

They entered the large hallway and headed through the dark corridor. Jack grew more nervous and kept close to his allies as they walked into a large room with hundreds of buttons and cameras.

"We just gotta wait here for a little bit," Felix explained, sitting at one of the chairs, and he started up a conversation with one of the security men. Marzia followed Felix, but Signe held back beside Jack, who was looking at the screens. The crutches clicked against the cold hard floor as Jack moved to the other side of the room, his eyes going from camera to camera until he suddenly stopped and froze, his breath catching in his throat.

He had found the security camera for Mark. It showed the giant laying down on the floor, chains around the giant's waist, legs, ankles, wrists, and neck. They even had a muzzler on him! It broke Jack's heart just to see how miserable he looked! His arm had bandage wrapping for the scratches on his bicep, but that was the only ounce of humanity that had been given to the giant. He appeared to be asleep, but his eyebrows were furrowed up in the middle of his face with anxiety. Jack noticed that in front of the camera were also bars, and Jack gasped in a silent breath of horror.

"Is that him?" Signe was standing by Jack, looking at the screen as well. "He looks really scared..." Signe sympathized. Jack swallowed and nodded as a man entered the room.

"Felix!" He boomed. "It's been a while!"

"Hi Ken!" Felix got up and hugged the commander, and Ken let loose a two syllable laugh as he said, "It's good to see you again." Then he looked at Jack, and his eyes widened a little.

"Well if it isn't the survivor himself!" Ken said. "You're looking a little thin Jack." Jack glanced at Felix, wondering if he was suppose to recognize this man.

"Right, uh Ken, Jack kinda has amnesia," Felix explained. "So he doesn't remember anything at the moment." Ken widened his eyes and nodded.

"Right, right of course! Well did you see yourself on the news? It was lucky of you that drone picked up your fire before that giant beast could take a bite out of you." Jack looked back at Mark as Felix answered.

"Actually that's why we're here Ken. Jack wants to see the giant." Ken eyed Jack before smiling and shrugging.

"Well you always were a bit of a daredevil I'd say," he laughed. "Come on then, I'll take you there." Signe tried to follow Jack when Ken looked at her. "Just Jack," He commanded.

"I want her to come," Jack protested. "I want them all to be with me." Ken looked at Jack before shrugging.

"Alright, fine." The four followed Ken through a maze of hallways and stairs before they entered a room with one wall made of bars. Jack tried to peer through the bars, but it was dark.

"We've noticed that the monster is diurnal like us, so we've kept it dark in here to keep it sedated," Ken explained as he flicked a switch. Lights suddenly flickered on in the small room, allowing some light to escape into the cage.

"Just be careful," Ken said as he tossed the key to Jack. He managed to catch it, and he looked at the lock before limping over to it and unlocking the human sized door. He looked back at Felix and Marzia, then at Signe before he opened the door and entered the cage.

He grew aware of Mark's heavy breathing as he quietly approached him. The sheer size of him already had Marzia nervously hiding behind Felix, and Felix's eyes were wide open as he watched Jack fearlessly head over to the giant.

Jack stopped a few meters away and set his crutches down on the ground, and he limped over to Mark and gently touched his cheek.

"Mark!" He whispered softly. A muscle twitched under his hand as Mark shifted a little, and he watched as Mark sleepily opened one eye before they both opened. Mark whimpered and tried to move his head, but the chains hampered his movement, making him whine and paw weakly at the cold floor.

"It's ok bud, it's ok..." Jack hugged the giant. "I am so, so sorry, I'm gonna get you out of this mess alright?" He promised. Mark whimpered and nuzzled the Irishman, making Jack smile as his eyes grew misty.

The others were standing there in shock, staring at the strange interaction they were watching. Mark's eyes darted over to them, and he gave a soft growl as he pressed his cheek against Jack.

"It's ok Mark, they're my friends," Jack coaxed, rubbing his jawline. Mark gave a doubtful rumble as he eyed the three strangers. "Come on guys, it's ok," Jack assured. "He won't hurt ya."

Signe hesitantly walked over to Jack, and Jack reached out and gently grabbed her hand.

"Mark, this is my girlfriend Signe," he introduced. Mark's aggression faded as he looked at the small girl curiously, who stared back at him with wide eyes. Then Mark purred and nuzzled her, surprising Signe before she relaxed and smiled.

"Aww he's so sweet," she whispered to Jack. Jack grinned before looking at Felix and Marzia as they too came over.

"He's so big," Marzia murmured, awed.

"I know he looks really scary at first, but he's really nice," Jack promised, gently patting Mark. "The government mistook him as a threat, but he's just like us. He's a person, he has feelings, he just doesn't know much about talking. You wanna say hi Mark?"

"... H-h-hhhii," Mark rumbled. Felix looked fascinated.

"Well, he does seem nice..." he admitted.

"Exactly! He is! We just need to persuade the government that..." Jack sighed. Signe looked at Mark and shyly put her hand on his cheek. Mark purred and pulled away to lay his head down, looking at the girl with his soft brown almond eyes.

"Aww..." Signe smiled and kissed the giant's forehead, and Mark shyly purred at her. "He's too cute to be a monster," she cooed. "Isn't that right?" She asked as she pet Mark. Mark closed his eyes and rumbled in agreement.

"I really hate that they put a muzzler on him though," Jack muttered bitterly. "That's just inhumane!"

"I'll try to pull some strings with Ken," Felix offered.

"Really? You can do that?" Jack asked, impressed.

"Yep! I might have to fuck him later though." Felix winked, only joking. Marzia rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding Marzia!" Felix clarified, kissing her cheek. "You're the only one for me, girl."

"That's good to know," she teased, messing his hair up. Felix jerked away with a dramatic gasp and put his hands on his head.

"Hey! I spent a whole five minutes on this hair, how could you ruin this masterpiece!?" Jack giggled and looked over at Mark, then laid his hand on his cheekbone.

"It'll be ok Mark," he murmured. "I'll get you out of here, there's no way in hell I'm leaving you here."

 


	14. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack remembers more about his past and posts a video telling his story on the island, getting some... unexpected attention.

**"Are you sure about this, Sean?" Signe asked. They were packing their bags for the trip on the cruise ship.**

**"Yeah of course I am," Jack said, zipping up his bag. "Why wouldn't I be?"**

**"It's just... I'm worried," Signe answered. "I've just got a funny feeling, that's all." Jack looked over at Signe and smiled.**

**"It's gonna be ok, Woosher," he promised, using one of his affectionate nicknames for his girlfriend. Signe smiled a little, but she still looked uncertain. "Besides," Jack continued, focusing on their packing again. "We gotta do this for the charity, remember? Just think of this as a date; us, together on a cruise to South America! I think it's awesome that the President of America rented us the ship too to help our cause, and it was very nice of the Captain to agree to come all the way up here to Brighton to take us to Nicaragua himself."**

**"Yeah, but... I don't know, I just have an uncomfortable feeling." Signe shifted uneasily as she folded a shirt. Jack reached over and gently placed his hand on her hand.**

**"It'll be ok," he assured. "I know we've never been to South America before, but it'll be fun! I know we just moved in here to this amazing new house, but we'll get everything else all sorted out when we get back." Signe looked at her boyfriend before setting the shirt down and hugging him. Jack smiled and patted her on the head.**

**"It's gonna be ok, we'll be back before you know it."**

 

 

 

Jack flinched and woke up with a gasp, an open book falling out of his lap. He sat there panting for a few seconds, then relaxed and slowly sat back, running his hand over his forehead.

Another memory... he sighed and covered his face with his hands, groaning softly as he rubbed his cheeks. _God, how could I have said something like that to Signe and then gone and gotten myself lost at sea!?_ He sighed and put his hands down, and he looked around to remind himself of his surroundings.

He was in the cage with Mark, where he had been for two days. Jack was staying here waiting for Felix to return, hopefully with good news. To pass the time, Jack had continued teaching Mark to talk; he had gotten the hang of saying letters, but now he just needed to learn how to put them all together.

Jack turned his head to see that Mark was asleep, and that he was laying back against the giant's stomach. Jack yawned and nuzzled Mark's shirt, and he picked the book up and hugged it to his chest as he felt the surface under him rise and fall with each breath.

He sat there for a moment when the door suddenly opened, and Mark opened his eyes and lifted his head up as Signe walked in. Jack too opened his eyes, and he smiled.

"Hey." Signe smiled back and walked over to Jack.

"Hey," she said back as she sat beside Jack and leaned against him. Jack rested his chin on her head as he rested his hand on her back.

"Any news yet?" Jack asked. Signe shook her head.

"No. Not yet..." Signe looked up at Mark, who was watching the two people curiously. "How far has he gotten now?" She wondered.

"He's gotten better." Jack had persuaded Ken to take off the muzzler, which Mark was very glad about. "You wanna say hi buddy?" Jack asked.

"Hello," Mark rumbled with a little smile. His speaking had warmed up to a deep rich voice that sent vibrations through the bones of anyone close enough.

"Hi Mark." Signe smiled back, making Mark purr as Jack grinned.

"He's gotten better," Jack repeated. "He just needs more practice on words."

"That's good." Signe patted the alive wall that they were leaning against, getting another purr from Mark as the giant shifted and laid down on his stomach.

"So um... what I wanted to talk to you about was YouTube," Signe shyly admitted.

"Huh? What about it?" Jack asked.

"Well..." Signe tugged on her sleeves. "People are glad that you're ok, but they've been asking for you to make a video to update them." Jack looked back up at Mark, who had laid his head down and closed his eyes again. Signe followed his eyes and smiled. "Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on him," she assured. Jack nodded and handed Signe the book.

"Just keep reading for him. He likes hearing people talking," he advised. Signe nodded and looked at the book as Jack hobbled to the door and shut it halfway behind him. He turned and grabbed his crutches, and he made his way out of the military base.

Jack got directions from Ken to go to a park, and he soon was walking into the large green area. He looked around before seating himself on a bench, and he set his crutches down before pulling his phone out and holding it out to show his face, and he pushed record.

"Hey guys, so um..." Jack trailed off and pushed his bangs out of his eyes, and he cleared his throat before looking at the camera. "So I'm alive, uh, this video I'm afraid isn't going to have any good old "top of the morning to ya" though, because this is too serious for me to joke about. I know you guys thought that I was dead, and I am so sorry that you all were worried and everything, but uh..." Jack looked around before continuing once he was satisfied that he was alone. "I'm here to tell you what happened, so those of you expecting a not serious video, you don't have to watch of course, but uh, but please, hear me out, because I need to tell you guys this." Jack swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He had just imagined how many people he was actually talking to...

"Um..." Jack cleared his throat and continued. "Sorry, sorry, I just uh, it's been a while. So to start with, I actually hit my head quite a few times, so I can't remember anything, like... nothing, absolutely nothing. But uh, I'm ok, I've got my crutches right here, and I'm just bruised and scratched and I do have a broken bone, but I'm not here to talk about myself, actually..." Jack paused and sighed again, running his hand through his hair.

"I'm here to talk about my friend Mark."

 

 

 

Jack woke up to Felix shaking his shoulder.

"Glad I found you," Felix sighed. "You ok? One of the soldiers said I'd find you here."

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Jack sat up. "I just came here to clear my head," he admitted.

"Yeah I know. I saw." Felix held his phone up, and Jack saw that he had up the video from today. It was already at ten million views and seven million likes. Jack's eyes widened in shock as Felix continued. "It's number one on trending, and the entire internet has been posting a hashtag literally everywhere." Jack scrolled down into the comments, seeing the same hashtag being used over and over with a side comment about Jack's story; they all said **#SAVEMARK** .

"... I..." Jack's head was spinning with shock. "How long was I out!?" He exclaimed. "I just closed my eyes for a-a minute...!"

"Only about half an hour since it uploaded." Felix put his phone up. "Jack what were you thinking? This was suppose to be a private military issue, now the entire fucking globe knows about this!" Jack stood up, and despite being shorter than Felix he put his hands on his hips and glared at the Swedish man.

"Now you listen here!" He snapped. "I don't care how close we were before I lost my memory, but I know enough to understand that it's my channel and I can do whatever the hell I want! I didn't want people to think that Mark is some monster, because he isn't!"

"I know he's not Jack, but this is a very tricky situation! You might have just fucked up our chance of getting Mark out of there!" Felix pointed out.

"How? I did nothing wrong, I told the truth, about everything, about my time on that island and about Mark!" Felix groaned and put his hand over his face.

"Because-" Felix's phone suddenly vibrated and lit up in his pocket. The Swedish man sighed and pulled it out and answered the call.

"Hello?" Felix frowned before blanching. "Y-yes sir. Yes. No I- it's not his fault sir, he couldn't help-... but sir-!" Felix sighed. "Alright, yes sir... uh huh, ok." The called ended, and Felix dropped his arm with another sigh before looking at Jack. "Boy could this get any worse," he groaned. Jack frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Do you remember Ethan?" Jack shook his head. "Well Ethan is the most powerful man in the world. He and the president are friends, but he dominates the government and us YouTubers."

"... well what's so bad about that?" Jack asked, confused.

"Ethan wants to see the giant... in court."


	15. A Checkup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan sends Amy over to Jack's place to give Mark a checkup.

"I really hope it goes ok tomorrow," Jack said out loud. He was sitting on the couch in the place that was apparently his and Signe's home; it was a fucking rich house. The rooms were bright and homey with a welcoming vibe to it, and the surroundings did feel familiar to Jack as he sat there with his head resting against the back of the couch.

"The court case?" Signe murmured, curled up beside him. Jack nodded and tilted his head at her.

"Yeah... I'm worried. What if they say no, and that Mark can't be his own citizen? What if they decide to continue what the Koreans tried to start? What if they decide to keep Mark locked up like some prisoner or an animal?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Signe coaxed. "I'm sure you guys will do great..." She paused and looked out the large window that was beside them. "Speaking of which, where did he go? He's been gone a while."

"I don't know..." Jack leaned over Signe to peer outside. When Felix had gotten the call two days ago, Ken had been persuaded not only to free Mark from all of his chains, but to also let him go outside the premises under Jack's watchful eye. This gave Jack and Signe open time to teach Mark the basics in how to act like a regular human.

Mark suddenly emerged from the countryside and came over to the lavish house that was separated from society, his hair wet and his skin moist, wearing only his jeans and no shirt.

"Oh there you are." Jack slid off the couch to look through the window better, and he smiled up at Mark. "Did you get washed up in that waterfall?" He asked. Mark nodded. "That's good. See, doesn't it feel better to be a little cleaned up? You were starting to get a little dirt on ya." Mark shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair as Signe turned away from the tv to look over at the two boys.

"Oh Mark, the order we placed for those clothes came this morning if you want to go try those on now," she told.

"... ok," Mark rumbled quietly.

"They should be at the front of the house." Signe pointed to the front door. "Big cardboard box, you can't miss it." Mark lumbered to the front of the house, disappearing from the two humans' sights for a moment. Jack sighed and slumped back in his seat, then looked over at Signe.

"We're starting to act like parents," he chuckled as he shifted his foot cast to adjust it. Signe blushed and her cheeks got rosy pink at his words.

"I guess so," she shyly agreed. Jack smiled and gave her a little kiss on the cheek, making Signe blush and look away as she placed her hand over her mouth, abashed.

"I know I don't have my memories back yet... but I think it's safe to say that I love you," Jack said with a small smile on his face. Signe smiled back.

"I love you too, Sean," she replied as Mark returned to the window. The giant was wearing a brand new red and black flannel, but he was having trouble buttoning it.

"Problem Mark?" Jack called out, noticing this.

"... I don't... understand...?" Mark mumbled, tugging at the shirt. Jack sighed sympathetically and climbed out of his seat again.

"Look, you take the button," he started saying, demonstrating with his hands. "And then you just slide it in to the hole, and push it through..." It took Mark a few tries before he managed to button up his shirt, and he smoothed a wrinkle out of the fabric as Jack grinned.

"There. How's that?" He asked.

"...It's comfy," Mark admitted, giving his small friend a warm smile.

"Good, because you're going to wear that to the court." Jack thought for a moment before adding, "I know you're not used to how the human society works, but just don't do anything rash, ok? Just be patient, and the fucked up system will hopefully let us get us out of the loop." Mark nodded.

"Ok."

"Hey Sean," Signe interjected. "The movie just ended. You want to start another one?"

"Yeah sure." Jack looked back at Mark. "You wanna watch through the window buddy, or do you wanna go to sleep?" He asked. Mark pointed at the tv. "Ok then, if you get tired just let us know." Jack went over to the tv and tapped the screen, zooming out of the credits and scrolling to a different movie.

"What are we watching Sean?" Signe asked, twirling a strand of her short curly hair.

"Uh... Guardians of the Galaxy!" Jack declared. Signe smiled.

"That movie came out so long ago," she pointed out. Jack looked back and gave her a playful pouty face.

"But Chris Pratt's amazing!" He huffed. Signe smiled.

"And I'm sure if there was a movie about you then Chris Pratt would play as you," she giggled.

"I would fucking hope so! That'd be badass!" Jack got back in his seat as the movie loaded, and he seemed to finally realize his words; he frowned and turned to Signe. "... Did I just remember something?" He wondered. Signe blinked a couple of times before her eyes widened.

"You did," she realized. Jack grinned.

"I sounded like my old self didn't I?" He asked hopefully. Signe smiled and nodded, putting her hands on his cheeks and kissing him on the forehead. It was now Jack's turn to blush and look away with a smile plastered over his lips as they returned to watching the movie.

Throughout the movie, Jack kept remembering the names of the characters and pointing them out to see if his damaged brain served him right; he had gotten every name matched to every character accurately. Jack and Signe, of course, were delighted about this; maybe Jack would recover his memories after all.

Mark had watched the movie with fascination, stunned by the technology of mankind, but once it was over he gently tapped the glass to get the couple's attention.

"Are they trapped in there?" He asked with a worried look on his face.

"Huh? Who?" Mark pointed at the tv.

"Th-the people!" He stuttered. "In the-the thing! In the big box thing!"

"Ooohhhhh..." Jack sat up. "No it's ok Mark, it was just a movie," he coaxed. "A movie is something that is recorded by people playing certain roles so that they can tell a story." Mark relaxed at this, but still looked a little concerned.

"They're ok...?" He asked. Jack nodded, smiling at Mark's kind thoughtfulness.

"Yeah, they're ok," he assured. "It was a recording. All of this didn't actually take place in space, they edited it all and recorded it safely in a studio on Earth." Mark's shoulders slumped as he leaned back on his heels, looking relieved.

"Good," He murmured, looking a little embarrassed. "Space is cool though..." Signe smiled and got up.

"Why don't we all go to bed now? It's eleven and you need to be well rested." Jack waved his hand.

"But sleep is for the weak!" He whined. Signe rolled her eyes.

"Glad to hear you still sound like yourself," she teased. Jack smirked, but before he could open his mouth and reply, someone knocked on the door. Mark shrank back and hid at the back of the house as Jack sighed.

"Who the fuck is that at this hour?" He and Signe went down the stairs and headed to the front door.

"Hello." A pretty and young platinum blonde girl shyly waved. "Uh, sorry, I know it's really late, but I'm here about the case for Mark... McLoughlin?" She said, guessing on Mark's last name.

"Um... his last name's not McLoughlin, he doesn't have a last name." Jack looked the girl up and down. She was wearing a white jacket with grey work pants and a light pink shirt, she also had a little silver watch around her wrist; she also was holding a white med kit. Behind her was the latest model of a black KIA. In the seat beside the driver's was a young fluffy Labrador, who was sitting obediently in her spot and looking at the big house. "Who are you again?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir- uh, Jack- I mean-" Jack interrupted her with a friendly smile.

"Just call me Jack, please."

"Ok, Jack, well um, my name is Amy Nelson, I'm a doctor..." Amy blushed in embarrassment. "Well, not a "doctor" doctor, not yet at least." She chuckled nervously. "Sorry, sorry this is just my first time on the  job."

"No it's ok, you wanna come in?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." The three entered the home as Mark snuck a peek through the window, and his eyes widened he saw the new person before going back into hiding.

"Wow, this house is soooo big," Amy commented. "Anyways, uh, where is Mark?"

"He's outside somewhere. Would you maybe like some tea?" Signe offered.

"Sure, that'd be great." While Signe left to make the tea, Jack and Amy sat down beside the window.

"Mark," Jack called out, knocking on the window. "You have a visitor!" He waited a moment before frowning. "Maaarrrhhk?" He called. Then finally Mark looked out from behind some trees and shyly came out of hiding. Amy's eyes widened as the giant came to the window.

"Wow..." she breathed. She put her hands on the glass and looked at the giant with fascination as Mark stared back. 

"So this is Mark. Mark, this is Amy," Jack introduced. Mark opened his mouth and then closed it, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite put it into words. Amy pressed her forehead against the window and gave a shy smile.

"H-hi Mark." At the sound of her voice, Mark seemed to finally collect himself as he gave a warm smile and shyly waved back.

"Hello," he rumbled softly. Jack smiled and sat back.

"So Amy, you said you were here about the case? Why?" He asked. Amy looked over at Jack.

"Well, Ethan sent me here to do some data research," she admitted. "Meaning he wants me to take some... samples." Mark tilted his head, confused by what this meant, but Jack raised one eyebrow.

"Samples," he echoed. "You mean, you want to have a sample of his blood!?" Mark's eyes widened at this, and he nervously sat down, looking up at the window.

"Well... yeah, actually." Amy nodded and looked down at Mark, her eyes still filled with a child like wonder. "Plus a saliva test, some routine questions on habits, things like that," she continued. "It's not to hurt him or to be mean to him or anything though, I'm just suppose to find some data to back your case up."

"So, Ethan's on our side then?" Amy shrugged.

"Well he may be your friend, but he has to play fair and consider the well being of everyone else. Still... he is rooting for you."

"That's... good? I guess," Jack muttered. Amy got up and set the med kit on the coffee table, opening it up to some syringes and swabs for DNA testing; it also had a few other things for medical purposes of course, like medicine in case someone needed first aid.

"Oh god... those needles are huge!" Jack exclaimed.

"Well, he's a big boy, wouldn't you agree?" Amy pointed out. Jack looked at Mark, seeing that the giant looked uneasy as he stared up at the two humans.

"Yeah, but... I don't any harm to come to him."

"Understandable," Amy sympathized. "I don't want to hurt him either..." she down at Mark and smiled softly. "He's really cute," she venerated. Mark's eyes softened with surprise, and then he bashfully looked down with a shy rumble and ran his fingers back and forth through the grass. Jack smiled and chuckled softly.

"He is really sweet," he agreed. "He's such a gentle giant, and he's so cool! I mean, I'm afraid of heights and all, but when I'm sitting on his shoulder or in his hand, I actually don't feel scared because I know that I can trust him." Amy nodded, listening intently with bright eyes. "Plus he's my buddy, and he saved my life multiple times," Jack added.

"Well, I'm sure he's very sweet. Can I go discover that for myself?" Amy asked. Jack shrugged.

"Sure... just be careful, he's easily spooked, apparently." Jack nodded to the window to point out that Mark was staring at the medical box in Amy's possession, anxiety flickering in his eyes. Amy got up and collected her things, and she headed outside as Jack watched through the window.

"Hey there big guy," Amy said softly as she approached Mark. Mark was looking down at Amy curiously, then laid down on his stomach and looked at the young girl on her eye level. Amy smiled and set her med kit down. "Wow, you're so big up close..." she murmured in awe. Mark gently blew a warm breath of air on the girl, making her giggle as her hair stirred in the breeze.

"Well first things first," Amy started saying as she dropped to her knees and opened the box. "I'm going to have to check your heartbeat and then listen to your breathing, and then all the other normal check up stuff, and then I- oh!" Amy stopped midsentence when the giant suddenly scooted closer and gently sniffed the young doctor in training. Amy was surprised by this and didn't move as Mark rubbed his cheek against her, but then she smiled and embraced the friendly gesture, and she continued on with assembling her equipment.

"That's his way of getting to know you," Jack called from the window.

"I can see that!" Amy replied with a giggle, getting back up. "Ok Mark, can you turn over on your back for me?" Mark did as he was told, and Amy held a notepad to her chest as she climbed onto his hand and went up his arm. Mark watched her as she sat down on his chest and pulled a pen out, and she counted his heart rate before writing something down.

"Now can you turn over on your stomach for me?" Mark waited patiently until Amy had gotten back off of the titan, and then he turned over on his back. Then Amy settled herself in between his shoulder blades.

"Take a deep breath for me..." Mark inhaled deeply, and Amy listened. "Good, now out..." Mark sighed softly and relaxed, and Amy had him do it again. "Good... no signs of wheezing, clean healthy lungs..." she trailed off in though as she wrote down some more notes, and then she got up and returned to the ground. Jack was still watching from the window as Signe came out of the kitchen with a fresh brew of mint green tea.

"How are they getting along?" She asked, standing by Jack and looking through the window.

"Well, so far they're doing pretty good," Jack answered. "Mark's shy around her, which is really cute." He smirked. "I think he likes her."

"Oh." Signe looked for a moment before giggling. "That's so sweet."

"Yeah." Jack took a sip of his cup of tea and licked his lips. "Do you have any coffee by any chance?" He asked hopefully.

"No, sorry, I finished the last of it before I heard you were still..." she trailed off, and Jack nodded sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. Signe smiled and shook her head, blinking to hide her tears.

"You don't need to say that. You were marooned and stuck on an island for an entire week, and you don't remember anything about who you are. I'd hate to even think of what might have happened if Mark hadn't been there."

"I remembered you though," Jack gently interrupted, fixing his ice blue eyes on his girlfriend. "Not much, I'll admit, but still. I was able to recall your face, your eyes, and even your voice. And in a way..." Jack smiled. "It gave me strength." Signe sniffled and smiled as she teared up, and she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Aww, come here you," Jack suddenly said, setting his cup down and gently pulling Signe into a hug. Signe rested her cheek against Jack's chest as she let herself be embraced by the young Irishman, and she couldn't help but cry a little in his arms.

"Ok, so Mark has a strong and healthy heart, very good lungs..." Amy was coming up the stairs, looking at her notes. "And his teeth are astonishingly neat and clean, and they're also all in there, even the wisdom-" she stopped and looked at the couple. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" She asked.

"No it's fine." Signe rubbed her nose and pulled away as Jack turned to Amy. "You were saying?" He prompted.

"Well, he's in excellent shape. I mean, really good shape, better than most of the lazy American citizens that have taken over out country," The young blonde continued. She shyly added with a slight blush, "I even had him flex, his muscles are outstanding." Jack glanced at Signe with a small smirk and eyebrow raise.

"So Amy," Signe rolled her eyes at Jack before she started speaking. "What samples do you need?"

"Just a salivary and blood one," she answered. "And also I still need to ask some questions."

"Why don't you go ahead and ask your questions then? The tea's ready," Jack suggested. Amy smiled.

"Ok." She took a seat and had a sip of her tea before humming in content. "This is really good," she said in awe.

"Signe absolutely loves tea!" Jack exclaimed cheerfully before Signe could say anything. "She makes it all the time, and..." Jack trailed off as he realized what he was saying, and he cleared his throat and put his chin in his hand, covering his mouth and shutting up.

"So what questions do you need to ask?" Signe asked, hiding a smile. Amy took another sip before she set her cup down and returned to her notes with a pen.

"Well for starters, do you know how old he is?" She asked. Jack thought for a moment before slowly opening his mouth, thinking back to the videos and what he had seen on those monitors.

"Twenty seven?" Amy wrote down his answer.

"Does he have a full name, or is it just Mark?"

"For now, yeah."

"And does he have any partners?" Amy asked.

"I don't think so, no." Jack shook his head, and Amy scribbled down his reply.

"Are there any other giants on that island?" Jack pursed his lips and thought for a moment.

"... just one other," Jack admitted. "I don't think there were any others though besides him."

"Do you know anything about why Mark was created?"

"Yeah actually, the Koreans had this base in the cave where I found Mark, and they had these videos that show he was meant to be used in war. But as you can see, Mark couldn't hurt a fly." Amy nodded in agreement and tapped the butt of her pen against the notepad.

"And has Mark ever tried to hurt you?" She asked. Jack shifted in his seat and scratched his chin.

"Just once really," he admitted. "But it wasn't his fault, I don't think so at least..."

"What happened?"

"Well we were out exploring the island when we came across these weird ruins in the mountains, and we got into this weird arena thing. When Mark hit the ground though, this ringing noise came out of the floor, and he got agitated and then tried to hurt me." Jack quickly added, "But it wasn't his fault, I don't know why it happened but he just couldn't control himself. It's only happened just the one time because of that ringing noise."

"Was it a low note or high pitched?" Amy asked, tilting her head.

"It was a low ring, but right in my ears it had this shrieking high pitch scream in it," Jack described. Amy nodded thoughtfully.

"Maybe it was that ringing noise that set him off," she agreed. "Animals react at different sound frequencies to do different things. A high pitched ringing can get dogs and cats to react negatively, while low pitched noises can agitate an elephant. So maybe it's the same with Mark, the ringing unsettled him and got him riled up." Jack's eyes were wide with fascination.

"... cooool!" He said. Amy smiled and looked back down at her notes.

"Yeah it is, but that's just a theory," she reminded. "Anyways next up, what is your relationship with Mark?"

"He saved my life," Jack answered. "Multiple times actually. If it wasn't for him I'd be dead, and in more than one way. I do wish I remembered everything I had here, but I know that I consider Mark as a close friend." Amy nodded and closed her notepad.

"Ok, I think that's all the questions, thanks for your help."

"Yeah no problem." Jack got up and followed Amy outside, who was going over to Mark. Mark was sitting in the same spot still, dragging his finger through the grass and quietly entertaining himself.

"Hey Mark," Amy greeted cheerfully. "So before I go, I need you to do me a favor, think you can help me out?" Mark looked at Amy before shrugging.

"Sure."

"Great, now I need you to give me a saliva sample and a blood sample," Amy asked, getting out one of her syringes. Mark's eyes widened as he saw the syringe, and he shrank back with a whimper.

"No needles," he whined softly.

"It's ok buddy," Jack coaxed, hobbling over to the giant and rubbing his thumb. "It won't hurt, you'll just feel a small prick, and then it'll be over. It's like getting stung by a bee."

"I don't like needles," Mark protested softly. "Th-they hurt." Jack tilted his head and leaned against Mark's hand.

"It'll be ok little buddy," he promised. "Amy's a doctor. Her job is to heal, and she's gonna help us win, ok? All she need is a little tiny bit of your DNA so that she can make sure you're healthy." Jack thought for a moment before adding, "I know whatever the Koreans did was horrible, but here things are different. People here don't screw each other over for money, instead they actually help one another and do their job." Mark looked at Jack for a moment before his gaze switched to settle on Amy. His eyes softened with a trace of nervousness still in them, and he swallowed nervously before giving the young blonde a small nod.

"Thank you Mark." Amy walked over to the two friends and looked up at the gentle giant. "It won't hurt, I'll be gentle," Amy assured. Mark rumbled softly and shifted nervously, looking away as Amy set to work. At first he felt the cold metal press against his wrist, and he flinched on instinct before mumbling an apology and forcing himself to stay still. Then when the needle went in, he braced himself before relaxing. It didn't hurt at all, Jack had been right.

Once Amy was done, she put the syringe to the side and doctored up the tiny dot where the point of entry was.

"There, see? All done," Jack said, patting his larger friend on the hand. Mark looked down at the two humans and gave the Irishman a shaky purr, relieved that it was over.

"Now I just need the saliva sample," Amy directed. Mark laid down and rested his cheek on the ground as Amy rummaged through her things. She pulled out a white cloth and went over to the giant's head. Mark opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out, and Amy calmly collected her sample and then put it in her case.

"Alright, that's it."

"That's all you need then?" Jack asked as Mark sat up.

"Yeah, thanks." Amy nodded and packed her kit up, and she looked up at Mark with a smile. "It was nice meeting you Mark," she shyly said. Mark purred and smiled back.

"Yeah, you too," he rumbled. Amy nodded and then turned to Jack. "It was nice getting to finally meet you too, Jack, and tell Signe I enjoyed her tea."

"Yeah, no problem," Jack replied. "Have a good one." Amy waved before walking to her car and getting into it and greeting her dog with a smile.

"She's pretty," Mark shyly rumbled. Jack looked up at Mark and smirked.

"Is she now?" He winked, and Mark reddened.

"Y-yeah? That's a compliment," he mumbled, suddenly abashed.

"Yeeeaahhh, whatever." Jack sighed and looked up at the window, where Signe was sitting and drinking her tea. He smiled to himself, and then said, "Come on buddy, let's turn in for the night. We've got a big day tomorrow."


	16. The Court

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bob gets to authorize the atypical court case of Mark.

"God it rains as much as Ireland," Jack muttered as rain pattered outside. Mark gave him a confused look and rumbled curiously. Jack shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "Nothing, sorry..." he let his hand fall in his lap and glanced at his watch. "Where are they? They should be here by now," he wondered out loud. Mark, having no answer, stayed quiet and instead looked around the building.

They were in a church because it was the only building big enough to fit a giant inside, plus its doors were the only ones big enough to allow the giant in the first place. All of the church pews had been moved to allow space for Mark to sit on the floor, but only three had been kept in the room; one for Jack and his friends to sit in, one for the judge, and one for Ethan. The podium was where Jack would have to give his testimony, and it was turned to face where the judge would be seated. While Jack wasn't a believer of religion, he did mutter a small hopeful prayer, saying "Please let Mark win" before he entered the building with his friends.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon Sean," Signe assured. Jack sighed and tapped his fingers against his thighs.

"God I'm so fucking nervous," he muttered. "I feel butterflies in my belly, it's starting to make me nauseous!"

"Just relax." Signe reached over and gently grabbed Jack's hand, squeezing it a little to comfort him. A door thundered as it opened, and Felix returned from the bathroom.

"They here yet?" He asked. Jack sighed heavily as Marzia shook her head.

"No not yet Felix..." she then narrowed her eyes and looked the Swedish man up and down. "Why aren't you wearing the clothes I set out for you?" She asked sharply.

"It wasn't comfortable," Felix answered with a sly grin. Marzia rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Those aren't formal clothes though Felix!" She pointed out. He was wearing a gray hoodie and ripped blue jeans... not to mention one of his shoes were untied.

"Mmm that ass though!" Jack teased.

"Oh you like it? I wore these just for you Jack," Felix replied, grinning. Signe rolled her eyes.

"Guys-"

"And there he is!" The conversation was interrupted as a young man with blue hair entered the room with two other guys and Amy behind him. "Jack!" Ethan exclaimed with a grin. "Long time no see man!" Jack got up and walked over to greet the man, but he instead found himself being hugged. "I mean a week out on your own, did you have fun? Make any sandcastles?" Ethan asked with a smirk.

"Uh... no."

"Well that's fine, you made it back to us in one piece, that's all that matters!" After ending the hug, Ethan's eyes traveled up to Mark, and he grinned. "And you must be Mark," he realized. Mark nodded with a small "Yeah," and Ethan nodded thoughtfully. "Well, nice to finally meet you Mark, I'm Ethan!" He exclaimed.

"Hello," Mark purred. Jack smiled up at his buddy as Ethan went on to greet the others.

"Been a while since I've seen you, Felix! Hello Marzia! Oh, and Signe! How are the cacti? Great, great... oh, Jack!" Ethan returned to Jack. "I should reintroduce you to some old friends of mine." Ethan pointed to the larger of the two people. "This is Bob, he's gonna be the lawyer."

"Hi, how's it going?" Jack shook hands with Bob as Ethan continued with enthusiasm.

"You know Amy already, and the other is Wade. He's my uh... how do I put it? Bodyguard? Servant? Butler?"

"Coadjutant," Wade mumbled. Ethan laughed and patted Wade on the shoulder.

"I'm just kidding. Wade here helps me out with a lot of business things, yada yada yada..." Jack chuckled and shook Wade's hand too. "Alright then, now that we've all reacquainted with each other, let's get to work!" Ethan took Bob, Amy and Wade to their places in the pews, and Jack returned to his seat as Mark shifted nervously behind him.

Wade and Amy sat beside Ethan as Bob shifted his glasses, and he took out some papers and shuffled them before reading.

"Alright then," Bob sighed. "So I'll just say first off that for the record, this case is being made to determine whether Mark is eligible for citizenship. If found so, the government will personally see to it that he is provided for. If not, he'll be kept under special surveillance on the behalf of the military." Jack stirred in his seat with hope as he once again desired Mark to be an equal. "Now, if Jack McLoughlin would come up and give his case for the court to hear out." Signe squeezed his hand before letting Jack go, and the Irishman swallowed nervously as he got up and came to the podium. He stood there for a moment before glancing back at the others, and they all watched him calmly with encouragement. Jack took a deep breath and turned back.

"Jack, lift your left hand up and place your right on the Bible." Jack did as he was told, and Bob continued. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" Jack took a breath before he answered with the words Signe had taught him.

"I swear that the evidence that I shall give, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth... so help me God." Bob stood and took the book back, and after swearing everyone else in he then returned to his seat.

"Now Jack, I want you to tell us what happened on that island." Jack told his and Mark's story to the best of his ability. He told how he washed up on the island and was chased by a t rex before he had found himself underground, and he expressed his shock and awe when he had discovered Mark. He continued on with how he and Mark grew to be friends, and how Mark protected him throughout the entire week. He hesitantly admitted the part where Mark had been angrily roused by the strange ringing noise from the ruins, but he added in that he knew it wasn't Mark's fault. To his relief, Amy chipped in by giving her theory on the sound waves.

Jack glanced at his friends as Amy continued speaking. They all looked on the edge of their seat, but hopeful. Mark was definitely nervous though, messing with his hair and brushing it on the side of his head. Jack smiled a little as Bob thanked Amy for giving her opinion, and the Irishman continued on with the story.

When he ended his words on the subject of how the military had ripped Mark away from him, Jack stopped talking. The church room fell silent, then Bob turned to Ethan.

"Any questions, Ethan?" He asked. Ethan cleared his throat and sat up in his seat.

"Well Amy gathered her data and told me everything I needed to know. Mark's DNA test came back positive; he's human, there's just a mutation of some sort in the part of his cells controlling growth, along with surprisingly high levels of tyrosine." He looked over at Mark, then looked back at Jack. "However, I will ask a few questions, to make sure everything is valid," he offered. Bob nodded.

"Yeah go right ahead." Ethan got out of his seat and moved to stand in front of Jack.

"So buddy, dinosaurs?" Jack sighed through his nose.

"Yeah... it shocked me too, trust me," he answered. Ethan picked up a pen from Bob's desk and played with it.

"And you're sure there were prehistoric animals?" He continued. Jack nodded.

"Yes sir."

"So basically Mark is our modern day King Kong, is that what you're saying here?" Jack frowned; he hadn't thought of it like that before...

"I-I guess." He shrugged. Ethan set the pen down and looked at Jack.

"Then that makes you Ann Darrow?" Jack heard Felix hold back a snicker at the idea, and he bit his lower lip before shrugging again.

"If you want to draw that comparison, then sure." Ethan smiled.

"Well, a boy can dream," he chuckled. "Don't worry Bob, I have a point with all of the small talk though; Jack, are you sure that there were prehistoric creatures in the vicinity? Are you positive that they weren't a-a hallucination, or some sort of result of a psychological problem?" Jack frowned and shook his head.

"Oh I'm sure all right," he answered firmly. Ethan nodded.

"Good..." He put the pen back up. "Now, I have one last final question. Where is your proof for your story?" Jack blinked _. Oh shit, I didn't think about that..._

"Well." Jack swallowed before he replied. "I don't exactly have the proof with me, other than Mark, but I do have proof, back on the island..." Ethan looked over at Bob.

"What do you think Bob?" He asked. "You feel like going on a little vacation?" Bob scratched his head thoughtfully before he nodded.

"Sure. So by my jury, if Jack can validly show us that his story is completely sound and honest, then Mark will be allowed as a full citizen and his own person." He picked up the gavel and slammed it against the desk, and Jack smiled in relief as his friends cheered. Signe ran up and hugged Jack, while Felix kept cheering, "Yes Jack!" and pumping his arms in the air. Marzia was more quiet, but she did quietly applaud despite her partner being very loud.

Amy smiled as she gathered her papers and purse, and she left her seat to congratulate Jack. Ethan was talking to Jack about some plans for when to go to the island, and Bob went over to Wade and they talked for a little bit.

The only one not excited was Mark, who looked terrified as he whimpered softly in consternation, fear in his eyes.

 


	17. Case Tyrannosaurus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A giant, a military commander and his army, and the richest boy in the American country go with Jack back to the island to collect the Korean video files. What could possibly go wrong?

"I don't want to go," Mark rumbled nervously. Jack stopped packing his bag and looked up at the giant.

"Why not?" He asked, incredulous. "This is it! Once they see the videos the Koreans left, they'll see how awful those douche bags were and finally understand you're a person too!" Mark looked away from the window, swallowing nervously.

"I-I just, I just worry I guess," he mumbled. "What if Tyler tries to hurt you again?"

"Tyler will leave us alone," Jack said firmly. "He only attacked us because we invaded his territory." He set a bottle of water down and got up, and he went over to the window and put his hand on the glass. "Look, you don't need to worry," the Irishman assured. "I know you don't want to go back to that cave, but you don't have to go back in. I'll point the way to the control panel, and we'll wait above ground. There will be soldiers around to keep us safe, and even Ken's coming." Mark stiffened and shuffled his feet.

"He's mean," he muttered in a small voice. Jack sighed with understanding.

"He didn't know any better buddy." Jack let his hand drop to his side, and he continued packing the rest of the food and water. "He thought you were gonna hurt me, but that wasn't true. He just didn't understand that we're friends." Mark's eyebrow quirked as he looked back up at Jack.

"... so they won't... you know... cage me?" He whimpered. Jack felt his heart melt in his chest as he looked back into Mark's brown puppy eyes.

"No, of course not." He smiled to reassure the gentle giant. "Now chin up, ok dude? The sooner we get those videos the sooner we can put that fucking island behind us." Mark nodded and brightened up a little, and he sat down beside the mansion as Jack hurriedly grabbed a remaining bag of chips. Signe walked in as Jack zipped up the stuffed backpack, and her brow raised.

"How much food did you pack?" She asked with amusement in her tone of voice. Jack grinned and walked over to her.

"Hey, I had to pack some for Mark to eat too!" He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek, and they smiled at each other through blushing cheeks. 

"Just hurry home ok?" Signe pleaded as she straightened Jack's jacket and patted him down. "Make sure you don't get dehydrated, stay close to Ken and keep an eye on Mark, don't let him go wandering off and getting himself hurt, and-"

"Hey, Signe?"

"Yes?" Jack pulled Signe closer and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you." Signe beamed and hugged the man she knew she loved.

"I love you too Sean. Just be careful." Once Jack said his goodbyes to Signe and the house, he came outside and went around the back to Mark.

"You ready?" He called. Mark gave a thumbs up and a sheepish grin, and Jack grinned. "Aww you've become a sassy teenager, I'm so fucking proud of you," he sassed with a laugh. Mark stuck his tongue out, only making Jack laugh again before the Irishman had to cough to make himself stop. "Give me a lift will ya?" Mark put his hand on the ground palm up, and Jack climbed on without hesitation. He tossed his bag on to the giant hand before using Mark's thumb to pull himself up, and he settled down before giving Mark the ok. Mark slowly stood up to his full height and held his hand to his chest, and he glanced at Jack to make sure the Irishman was safe and comfortable before he set off to their destination.

 

 

 

 

Felix was at the military's port, standing next to Ethan and an impatient Ken.

"Where are they?" Ken asked as he sighed and glanced at his wrist. "I thought being a giant would mean longer legs to travel!"

"They'll be here," Ethan replied in a cheery voice. He was keeping occupied with some maps of the uncharted waters that Jack was stranded in.

"Ken, you don't have a watch," Felix pointed out.

"Hey, shut up Mr. Hot Shot! I'll do as I damn please! Besides, the hairs on my wrist are all I need to tell time."

"Well, you certainly have a lot of hair," The Swedish man teased.

"Why you-"

"Hey! There they are!" Ethan suddenly exclaimed, interrupting the harmless joking as he pointed. Mark was meandering his way through the busy streets and gargantuan buildings, being careful to not step on anyone. Luckily for him though, everyone was in fast cars.

"Glad you could make it," Ken said dryly as the giant crouched down in front of the three humans. Felix elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Lighten up Ken!" Ethan slapped the maps into the commander's arms and ignored his stammering protests. "Hi Mark," He said with a smile, looking up at the giant. "Glad you and Jack are here."

"Thanks," Mark mumbled. He shyly looked away and glanced down at Jack.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Jack exclaimed. He was sitting on the edge of Mark's hand with his legs hanging in the air. It was touching to see the Irishman trusting Mark so much that his fear of heights wasn't even showing. "Let's get this motherfucking show on the road!"

"You heard the man." Felix looked at Ethan with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Let's get going!"

"Ok," Ethan laughed. "But first we kinda need to explain how the hell we're going to get an eighty foot giant flown over the ocean." Mark blanched and looked unsettled.

"I hate the ocean," he whined.

"It's ok Mark." Jack gently patted the giant's hand. "You're not going in the ocean, it'll just be a nice and relaxing flight. You can flip the ocean off on the way if you'd like." Despite his own words, Jack was uncomfortable with the idea of flying. "How are we going to fly him then? Do you have a container big enough for him?" He asked Ken.

Ken shook his head. "Unfortunately, all we have is a ship big and fast enough to carry him in the cargo bay." Mark looked even more nervous, and he hugged Jack tightly to his chest.

"Mark!" Jack exclaimed, muffled. "I'm not a stress toy, relax dude!"

"It'll be ok Mark," Felix soothed. He was trying to hold back his laughter at Jack's hitch. "We haven't had a ship sink for fifty years!"

"Yeah, you'll be safe. You want to come take a look at it?" Mark nodded and set Jack on his shoulder before he followed. Jack held on to his friend's flannel's collar as Mark followed the three humans to a large ship.

"It's made of the best damn materials, and it was made by the best damn people." Ken pointed to the ship, and both Mark and Jack's eyes widened.

"Whoa," they chorused. The huge ship was about a hundred feet in size.

"It looks heavy, but it's really steady." Ken pat the side of the ship. "It moves really fast in the water too," he added.

"Are you sure it can hold Mark's weight?" Jack worried. "You heard him, he hates the ocean."

"I'm sure- how could you doubt me, after all these years!?" Jack shrugged.

"I wouldn't know, I can't fucking remember anything!" He retorted.

"Go on Mark, give it a try," Ethan invited. Mark leaned forward and peeked into the ship's gaping entrance, and he warily put his hand on the ship's deck. It creaked under his weight, and the giant flinched.

"Come on Mark!" Jack suddenly got up and ran down Mark's arm. "Let's try it out!" He jumped off his hand and ran into the belly of the ship. Mark rumbled nervously before he slowly climbed on the ship and crawled in after the energetic man. "Watch out for that beam!" Jack called out as Mark slipped in the cargo hold. "Careful there, there's some supply crates! Watch out for those stairs!" With Jack's watchful eye, Mark was soon laying down and hunched up inside the ship.

"There we go. How's that" Jack asked.

"It's cold."

"Yeah I know it is buddy." The Irishman walked up  to the giant's face and put his hand on the tip of his nose. "I'll warm you up," he added kindly. "Just don't think about the ocean, ok? It's not- it isn't there, fuck that guy am I right?" Mark purred quietly and nuzzled his tiny friend. Jack giggled and hugged Mark's cheek. "It'll be ok," he promised.

"Hey!" Jack looked up to see Ethan standing on the platform. "Does he fit ok?" He shouted.

"Yeah!"

"All right, let's get going then!" As the others started got the ship ready for launch, Mark nosed Jack's pack curiously.

"Hey!" Jack snapped playfully. "What do ya think yer doing?" He gently pushed the giant's nose away, but Mark grinned and nuzzled Jack again.

"Aww come on man! You can't just kiss my ass like that!" Jack laughed. Mark started purring again, and Jack sighed. "Ok fine! Fine, you'll get yer wish." Jack sat down and unzipped his backpack, and he pulled out a family sized bag of chips. Mark's eyes lit up as he nudged Jack again.

"Yeah I know, you're hungry. Old Jackaboy here's got ya!" The Irishman exclaimed. He fed his giant friend as Ethan and the others loaded on their provisions and men, and the ship suddenly lurched. They were heading off.

Mark's smile fell as he whimpered and pressed against the ground. The whites of his eyes flashed as he looked up at Jack.

"It's ok," the Irishman coaxed. He leaned against Mark's forehead and rubbed his friend comfortingly. "Nothing bad's gonna happen."

Mark let out a low key growl.

"Don't take that tone with me," Jack chuckled. "You're the one who's being a big baby, you goober!" Mark fell silent, and Jack took that as a good thing. "Just relax dude, it'll only be for a little while." He sat down and slumped against his giant companion as he ate some chips.

"Thank you," Mark suddenly murmured. Jack looked up into his friend's eyes.

"What for?" He asked with a mouthful. Mark  scratched shyly at his arm.

"You know, for... for sticking up for me," he mumbled. Jack smiled and leaned forward, and he pat Mark's hand.

"That's what friends do, they stick together, through thick and thin."

 

 

 

 

**"Sean! Sean, wake up!" Jack was confused with sleep as he opened his eyes and saw Signe. She looked terrified, and she was shaking the green haired man awake.  
**

**"Signe what-"**

**"Hurry! The captain said the storm took out the engine! The ship is _sinking_!" Jack climbed out of bed and realized that everything felt wrong. The world was tilted, and a shattered vase's remains were scattered on the floor. His mind finally clicked as he understood the situation. They were in danger; Signe was in danger.  
**

**"Come on!" He grabbed Signe's arm and ran with her out into the hallway. Red lights were flashing as a siren blared in Jack's ears, making the Irishman's ear drums hurt. He grit his teeth and splashed through the pooling water, and they burst out onto the deck. It was nighttime and raining, so it was hard to see much.**

**"Mr. McLoughlin! Over here!" A man in a yellow life vest waved at the two. "Hurry! The ship's taking on water!"**

**"Where's the captain?" Jack yelled.**

**"He's still inside I think!" Jack turned and gripped Signe's arms.**

**"Now listen to me, I want you to go ahead and get on a life boat, I'll be right with you! I have to make sure the captain's ok."**

**"But Sean!" Signe shrieked. "The boat's taking on water! What if you're trapped in there!?" Jack silenced her with a kiss.**

**"I'll be ok!" he shouted over the rain. "I'll be back before you know it! I promise!" He squeezed Signe's hand before giving her a small push toward the man, and he turned and ran back inside.  
**

 

 

 

 

Jack abruptly woke up when the ship's giant door rolled open.

"Rise and shine boys!" Ken walked onto the platform with some soldiers behind him. "Let's get moving." Jack yawned and stretched, still trying to wake up when Mark lifted his head and rumbled drowsily at the commander.

"Jack, wake up damnit!" Felix ran to Ken's side and leaned over the railing. "Come on, up!"  He shouted eagerly.

"Five more minutes..." 

"Get your lazy ass up, come on! We don't have time for naps!" Amused, Mark gently nudged the Irishman.

"Come on Jack, I'll carry you," he pointed out. It took a few tries, but the small sleepy man finally gave in and broke away from sleep. Five minutes later and they were all off the ship, and they headed inland. Jack was laying in Mark's hair, and Ethan was sitting beside him as Mark followed Ken and his men into the jungle.

"Ok big guy," Ken said when they entered a clearing. He turned and looked up at Mark. "Which way is it to this magical cave of "recordings"?" Mark gave Ken a wary glance before he pointed.

"It's just past those trees." Ken nodded and signaled his men.

"All right group one, you come with me. You three, stay here with Felix and keep on the lookout." Once they left, Felix sighed and looked around.

"You stayed here on this island for a week?" He called up at Jack.

"Well I was actually adrift for a day or two." Jack yawned and pressed his hands over his eyes.

"Well it's a good thing Mark was here then!" Ethan exclaimed. He was stroking Mark's hair, in awe at how soft it felt. Mark's eyes went up as he rumbled at Ethan, who giggled. "Sorry dude, your hair is just so..."

"Floofy?" Jack finished with a grin.

"Yeah, floofy! It's floofy!" Ethan laughed. Mark purred and sat in the grass as they waited. Then Jack suddenly sat up.

"Hey Mark can you put us down? I want to show Ethan around," he asked. Mark tilted his head and let the two tiny people slip in his hand, and he carefully set them down on the ground. "Thanks dude."

"I'll never get used to that." Ethan shook his head and followed Jack. The Irishman walked past one of the guards, and then he turned and yelled, "Felix, keep Mark company will ya? Ethan and I are gonna check out the perimeter"

"Sure thing!" Jack waved at the giant before he turned and led Ethan out into the wild.

"Where are we going?" Ethan asked.

"You'll see." They walked around for a little while and then climbed up a hill before Jack stopped and pointed. "Ok, see through those trees? It's right over the canopy, up in the mountain." Ethan squinted and used his hand to keep the sun out of his eyes.

"Oh, wow!" His eyes widened. "Are those the ruins?"

"Yeah!" Jack chuckled. "That's where Tyler lives, I think."

"Do you know anything about him?" Ethan asked, curious. Jack shrugged.

"Not much. I know he doesn't like people trespassing on his territory, apparently." He ran his hand through his hair and added, "I also know that when he was being held prisoner by the Koreans, he killed some guys and even ate this one poor dude." Ethan's eyes widened again.

"Well let's hope we don't run into him."

"Agreed." Jack looked back where they came from and sighed. "I doubt we'll see him though. He seemed pretty introverted." He looked back at Ethan. "He beat Mark up pretty fucking hard too, and he could have killed me," he added grimly. Ethan shivered, despite the hot tropical air.

"Right, he threw you in the river." He narrowed his eyes. "How come he didn't kill you?" Jack shrugged.

"Honestly, I've been asking myself the same-" he stopped mid sentence when a low rumble cut through the air. Ethan tensed and took a step closer to Jack.

"What was that?" He stammered. The Irishman frowned and looked around.

"I don't know. It sounded close though." He suddenly froze, and his eyes widened.

"Shit," he whispered. "E-Ethan... don't move."Ethan stared at Jack.

"What is it?" A deep growl made Ethan's eyes widen, and the blue haired man couldn't help but slowly turn around.  At first he didn't see anything, but when another breath of air blew over the two humans, Ethan gasped and stumbled back. Peering through the foliage in front of them  gleamed the beady eyes and huge snout of a t rex.

The tyrannosaurus rex suddenly opened its mouth and roared, and Ethan screamed as Jack yelped and grabbed his friend's arm.

"RUN!"

 


	18. The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the heat of battle Ethan and Jack are saved, but it's not the same giant that Jack knows...

"MARK!" Mark's head jerked up at Jack's scream, and he immediately got up. Felix looked surprised, and the three men looked around with alarm in their eyes. Mark looked around before he roared back.

"Jack!?" He waited a few seconds before he heard Ethan scream, and he bolted in their direction.

"Mark!" Felix exclaimed. He ran after the giant, but Mark was huge and fast. Mark ran through the jungle and pushed through trees, his hearing picking up heavy footsteps and an animal's roar.

 _The t rex._ Horror trickled through Mark's veins. When he had first burst out of the ground and escaped the cave with Jack, he remembered smelling the beast's scent everywhere. The tree he had pushed over had huge raw bite marks, and Jack had even explained how he had been chased into Mark's cave in the first place. A growl thundered in Mark's chest, and his eyes narrowed at the thought of his little friend getting hurt.

He couldn't be there the first time to protect Jack, but this time there was no way he was backing down.

 

 

 

 

"Ethan come on!" Jack ducked with Ethan in tow and avoided the t rex's giant foot. He threw Ethan ahead of him since the blue haired boy was dazed with fear, and he turned around to face the giant dinosaur.

"You want a piece of me you piece of shit!? Come and get it!" He shouted, waving his arms. He ran away from Ethan as he kept taunting the t rex, and to his relief his plan worked. Fear sent a shudder down his spine as those tiny beady eyes fixated on him, and the t rex snarled as it lashed its tail and walked after Jack. Jack turned and started running, and the t rex broke into a run and gave chase with a roar.

"MARK!" Jack screamed as he jumped over a tree root. "Mark!" He kept running, hoping his buddy could hear him, but as he ducked behind a tree he heard Ethan scream. He whirled around and realized with horror that the t rex had given up on Jack, and it was turned to face the more helpless of the two. Ethan had tripped and fallen over an uprooted tree root, and he was trying to crab crawl away from the t rex.

The t rex roared in his face and was about to bite him when a huge force suddenly crashed into it, and Jack gasped in relief. Mark had come!

But when the two giant creatures untangled and faced each other, Jack's eyes widened. It wasn't Mark. It was Tyler.

The t rex snarled and bared its teeth, and Tyler was crouched over Ethan. Ethan was trembling in the giant's shadow, but the giant's silver eyes were focused on the dinosaur. Tyler growled at the t rex, and the carnivore snarled again as it eyed its opponent. Jack was staring, stunned, until he heard a low growl from right behind. His heart leaped up his throat as he realized with alarm that there was another animal behind him. He turned around to see a second t rex.

 _Fuck!_ Jack took a step back before he turned and ran over to Tyler, and he ducked behind the giant's arm as the t rex's mate joined it. Tyler growled again as he eyed the two tyrannosaurs, and they stared back.

"Ethan, are you ok?" Jack whispered. Ethan nodded. He was shaking with terror, and he had skinned his knee, but he was gonna be ok. Jack pulled the young man up and kept him close, and they watched the stand off with wide eyes.

The first t rex suddenly roared, and the second one joined in as it charged Tyler. It only got a few feet closer before Mark suddenly burst out of the foliage and tackled it. Tyler's eyes widened, and his aggressive stand over Jack and Ethan slackened for a few seconds. But then he snarled and got up, and he ran in and joined the fight. Jack grabbed Ethan and dragged him to safety behind a tree, and they watched, huddled together, the fight of the titans.

Tyler punched his t rex in the jaw as Mark body slammed his, and they both roared with fury. The male carnivore head butted Tyler and threw him to the ground, while the female hissed and clawed at Mark. Mark growled and kicked the t rex away from him, his hand covering the fresh claw marks as he glared at her with angry red eyes. Tyler got up quickly and tackled the male to the ground, and he pinned him to the forest floor as he punched the t rex.

Mark roared in pain when the female dodged his fist and bit his arm, and he tried to get her to let go, but she wouldn't. Her jaws shifted as she bit down harder, and Mark groaned as he kept trying to shake her off. Tyler looked up, and then he dragged the male up and shoved him away before he turned and brought his foot up to the female's leg. Jack flinched as a crack reached his ears, and the female t rex whined and screeched as she let go of Mark and fell down on one knee. Mark glared at her and kicked, sending her spinning to the ground, and he stepped closer. His shoulders were hunched and his fists were clenched at his sides. His eyes bore into the carnivore, his lips were pulled back in a snarl as he moved closer.

The male t rex suddenly stepped between the two, and he hissed at Mark. Mark stopped and glared at the carnivore, and the t rex whined before he turned around and nudged his mate. The female whined as it got up, leaning against her mate as they hobbled away from the two giants. Tyler glanced at himself to see that one of the t rex's tiny arms had managed to lash out and claw his flank, and he growled.

The male tyrannosaur stopped and gave Jack one final defeated glare before turning away and helping his mate limp off into the jungle. Their footsteps faded, and silence came over everyone.

Jack quietly stepped out from behind the tree as Mark's eyes faded back to their normal brown, and the giant relaxed as he looked over at Jack. The two friends' eyes met, and Jack found himself relaxing despite the giant's frightening display of aggression. He looked up at Tyler to see that his eyes were normal brown again too, and he shared a brief glance with the giant before remembering Ethan.

"You ok dude?" The Irishman asked as he turned and helped Ethan stand. Ethan was shaky as he leaned against Jack, panting almost as heavily as the two giants.

"I'm fine," he stammered. He looked up at Tyler, and Jack noticed awe in his eyes. "You-you saved my life," Ethan murmured. Tyler looked over at the two humans before he turned away and started licking a scratch on his forearm. Mark walked over to the two humans and put his hand on the ground, and Ethan gratefully pulled away from Jack and sank onto the giant's hand.

"You skinned your knee pretty badly," Jack pointed out. "You sure you're ok?" Ethan nodded, but his mind was elsewhere.

"Jack!" Jack looked up as Felix stumbled out of the foliage, and Ken and his men were right behind him. "Jack!" Felix exclaimed. He hugged Jack as Ken halted and looked around at the messy evidence of the fight.

"What happened?" He asked. He looked at Tyler suspiciously, but Ethan spoke up.

"I'll tell you what happened, my ass just got saved by that giant over there!" He exclaimed. Tyler looked at the newcomers and narrowed his eyes, a suspicious growl stuck in his throat.

Mark purred reassuringly at Tyler as Jack explained what happened. "And then Mark chased them off!" Ethan added.

"You're hurt," Felix remarked. "Are you gonna be ok?"

"Yeah! Thanks to Tyler." Ethan smiled at the disheveled giant, who was looking at his wounds.

"Will they come back?" Ken asked. Mark shook his head.

"I made sure they got the message."

"Mark was an absolute beast!" Jack exclaimed. "He helped Tyler make sure they would never bother us again!"

"But if Tyler hadn't come then I might have been too late," Mark murmured humbly.

"Why did he come though?" Felix asked. "I thought you said his territory was up in the mountains."

"Maybe he was just exploring the jungle when he heard me scream," Ethan suggested. Tyler had crouched down and was gently poking Ethan as the boy spoke. Mark shared a glance with the giant before he realized Tyler was just making sure the blue haired boy was ok. So he made no move to stop him; his actions weren't being aggressive anyway. Ethan suddenly twisted and giggled when Tyler poked him in his stomach. "Stop! That tickles!" He laughed. "I'm ok, really."

"Did you get the recordings?" Jack asked Ken. Ken nodded.

"Yeah. I even got to leaf through a couple, but I'm gonna have to put it through a translator. I don't speak Korean."

"Ok." Jack nodded and sat down on Mark's hand. He was suddenly very tired now that the adrenaline was leaving his veins.

"Well let's go home then!" Felix cried excitedly. "I'm ready to leave this island and never come back!"

"Paleontologists will be thrilled to get their hands on this place," Ken grumbled. They turned and started walking back to the boat, but Ethan's cry stopped them.

"But what about Tyler?" The rich young man had his hand pressed against one of Tyler's fingers, and Tyler was watching Ethan curiously. "We can't just leave him here!" Jack shared a look with Mark.

"But Ethan, those ruins are his territory," Jack tried to say, but Ethan shook his head.

"No, I'm not gonna just leave him. He saved my life so I'm gonna make him a citizen too, just like Mark when he saved yours!"

"He does have a point," Mark rumbled. Jack shrugged and then nodded.

"He doesn't know how to talk though, but it should be his decision," he pointed out.

"I know." Ethan prodded Tyler's hand. "Hey buddy, you wanna leave this island? I can take you to a better place." Tyler narrowed his eyes at Ethan and growled. Even though he came to the humans' rescue he was still wary of them. "I mean it, honest!" Ethan promised. He had an innocent grin plastered to his face. "I have the money to get a house for you and Mark built, and then you guys can be safe and happy, and Jack and I would visit a lot!" Tyler looked at Ethan for a few quiet seconds, and Jack started to think Tyler would say no when the giant finally nodded and rumbled in agreement.

"Great!" Ethan cheered. Mark smiled and lifted his hand up, holding the two men to his chest as he purred at Tyler, delighted. Tyler gave him a look that Jack decided was caution but also content.

"This is a really cute and gay scene and all," Felix suddenly interrupted. "But can we go home now?"

 

 

 

 

**"Captain!" Jack shouted. He ducked under a flickering light and avoided its sparks as he headed into the captain's headquarters. "Where are you?"**

**"McLoughlin?" The captain exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?" Jack turned to see that the man was pinned under some metal debris.**

**"Someone said you were still in here!" He ran over and tried to free the captain.**

**"Well I'm glad you came back," the man groaned. Jack grunted as he put all his weight into pushing the metal beam off of him. The metal creaked and fell away with a screech, and Jack helped the man up on to his feet.**

**"Can you walk?" he asked. The captain stubbornly nodded, but he let out a loud groan and sank to his knees when he tried to take a step. Jack crouched down and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, and then he started dragging him into the hallway.**

**"So what happened?" Jack asked. "Why is the ship sinking? I thought this was the latest high tech model!"**

**"I-I don't know." The man grit his teeth in pain. "But one of my men said there was a fire, and then the engine just... exploded." Jack decided to not ask anymore questions so the captain could save his breath. He helped the captain splash through the rising water, and they limped up the stairs before coming out on the deck.**

**"Sean!" Signe was sitting on one of the last life raft with other survivors, and she gripped the ropes on the raft. "Sean!"**

**"I'm right here!" Jack shouted back. As he carried the captain to the edge of the cruise ship, the Irishman felt a tremor shake the ground.**

**"It's gonna-" an after shock explosion halted the captain's voice as both he and Jack were flung over the railing. Something hit Jack in the back of the head, and his vision turned dark for a few seconds as he passed out midair. He hit the water hard. The waves tossed him around as thunder growled in the angry black sky, and Jack was still unconscious. His nape was dripping with blood from his head wound, and the pressure in between his ears grew as his lungs screamed for air.**

**Then when Jack's head finally broke through the surface, he weakly choked as he coughed up water. His hand hit something cold and yellow, and he turned over in the water and dragged himself onto it. He didn't realize it at the time, but the current had carried one of the spare life rafts to the green haired man; it was almost as if the ocean took pity on him.**

**Jack coughed as he laid down in the raft, but he was so tired he could barely lift his head up. Exhausted, his eyelids grew heavy, and Jack fell unconscious as the rain washed away the salt and blood on his body, and the current carried him away from the flaming remnants of the cruise ship.  
**

 


	19. Vänskap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are coming together beautifully.

"Mahrk!" Jack stood on the giant's chest with his arms crossed. "Mmaaarrrk!" He whined. "Wake up! It's already almost nine!" The warm surface under the Irishman shifted, and a groan reached his ears as the giant stirred and opened his eyes.

"Jack?" He yawned and lifted his head. "Why are you-" Jack jumped and stomped on his breastbone, making Mark flinch in surprise.

"Come on, come on Mark!" Jack waved his arms before he turned and climbed off of his friend. "I promised Ethan we'd be playing that new game by nine o'clock, and your ass is still in bed!" Mark groaned and turned over on his side.

"I was already up all night," he complained. Jack smiled.

"And who's fault was that, ya workaholic?" He tugged on Mark's sleeve, but the giant's arm lifted, taking Jack along for the ride. He yelped as Mark sat up, and he found himself splayed over the giant's thigh.

"You were saying?" Mark giggled. He ran his hand through the red floof on his head, glad that Jack had persuaded him to dye his hair. Hw didn't know what it was, but it just made him feel closer to Jack and Ethan. Although, they had yet to persuade Tyler to ruin his curly locks.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Jack jested. He pushed Mark's incoming hand away and jumped back onto the bed. "Get dressed! You're wearing nothing but a tee shirt and your bottom sweats!"

"They're called pjants," Mark scoffed. He got up and went to go get dressed, and the depression in the bed where he sat bungeed back to normal.

"Whee!" Jack fell over on his back when the bed went back to normal, and Mark glanced over at him with a grin and chuckled.

"Nice to see you're still a man-child, leprechaun," he teased.

"Fight me you red headed bitch!" Jack snapped. Mark laughed and walked out of the closet, in the middle of buttoning his lucky flannel up.

"You're adorable." Jack sneered at his friend before he grinned and laughed. Mark smiled and picked Jack up, and he gave his Irish friend a gentle hug against his chest. Jack relaxed and pressed against the giant's shirt. His green hair contrasted with the warm red and black colors, but the Irishman was ok with that.

"Don't think this means you can call me cute and get away with it," Jack muttered with a small smile.

"What, meee!? Big old crybaby Markiplier? I wouldn't dream of it!" The red haired giant giggled again and pet Jack's head. He was still holding Jack against his chest when he carried his tiny green haired friend out of his room and walked Into the living room.

"Hey Mark," Tyler called out. He was sitting in the dining room eating breakfast.

"Hi Tyler!" After a brief conversation with Tyler, Mark continued into a study room with soft black panels covering the walls. Jack stirred in Mark's hand and sat back against his fingers.

"For a big guy, you sure take forever to walk to another room," he complained, smirking.

"Excuse me, I didn't wanna jostle you around!" Mark pretended to take offense and huffed at Jack, and Jack snickered as he was put down on the desk. "There, now you go ahead and get your computer up, I'm gonna go make some coffee; no way am I recording with an empty stomach." As Mark said this, his stomach growled.

"Fine you weakling." Jack rolled his eyes. "Make me some too!" Mark scoffed and left the room, and Jack stood there beaming. He then turned around and walked across the desk to go behind the giant computer monitor and walked up to a human sized door. He opened it and went in.

Inside the small human room was Jack's new recording place. He had soundproof walls too, a shelf full of wonderful things fans had given him, and he also had a smaller shelf full of books. He wasn't much of a reader, but he figured it covered up the asymmetric area. Jack tapped the wall with a dull thud before he went over to his computer and booted it up.

It only took a few minutes before everything was ready, and with Jack's luck of the Irish, Mark walked back into the room with his big cup of coffee, an eyedropper, and a small human sized mug.

"Special delivery!" He called out in a singsong voice.

"Thanks Mark," Jack giggled. Mark smiled at Jack and sat down at his desk, and he carefully transferred some of his coffee to Jack's cup.

"There you go, weakling."

"Ah shut up you big goober." Jack came over and picked his cup up and took a sip. "Mmm! That's some good coffee there," he mumbled as he drank some more. Mark chuckled as he set his computer up. 

"So, are you going to do it?" Jack glanced up at Mark with a questioning look. "Are you gonna ask Signe the question?" He asked, clarifying his question with a huge grin. Jack's cheeks turned a rosy pink, and he nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. Today." Mark squealed.

"Aww! When!?" He gasped.

"This evening." Jack laughed at Mark's excitement. "I'm taking her out on a picnic to watch the sunset. I figured it was about fucking time to propose to her."

"Well then congrats!" Mark rubbed Jack's head. "No way is she gonna say no!"

"Hey, don't touch the hair!" The Irishman laughed as he ducked away from Mark's hand. "You'll mess it up!"

"It was messed up before I touched it." Jack flipped his gargantuan friend off before he laughed and ran into his recording room.

"I'll let Ethan know we're ready."

"I'll go make sure Tyler's ready too," Mark called after him.

"Ok!" Jack got in his chair and pulled Skype up. He only had to wait a few seconds before Ethan answered.

"Hey! You ready?" Ethan exclaimed. "I've been waiting for five whole minutes!"

"What can I say?" Jack shrugged. "You can't rush perfection!"

"Ha!" Ethan laughed. "Don't say things like that Jack, I'll end up laughing to death!"

"Can I at least have your money if you do die?" Jack asked. He smirked at the computer screen as Ethan gasped.

"No! You don't need it." The two friends chuckled, and then they both sat there for a few seconds before Ethan spoke again. "So how's your memories?" Jack shrugged.

"I've been remembering bits and pieces. That shrink you sent me to really knows her stuff," he answered.

"Good. I'm glad." Ethan smiled. "It's good to have you back man."

"I haven't gone anywhere. I was only on the island for a week tops," The Irishman reminded. "And I've been back with civilization for three months now! I've made real progress with my amnesia, and Signe..." Jack let out a dreamy sigh. "She's been so supportive, and I've remembered more about her. I remember her sister, her parents, her birthday, her favorites..." Ethan smiled.

"You're gonna ask her, aren't you?" Jack looked up and nodded.

"Hell yeah I am! She's waited long enough, and I remember I was gonna ask her when-" Jack stopped and put his hand over his eyes. "... I remember that I was going to propose to her after the cruise," he mumbled. Then he dropped his hand and sighed, and he looked at Ethan. "I'm sure glad you kept the ring though, it's sure handy to have now."

"Yeah, no worries, I'm the ring man remember?" Ethan winked as Jack heard Mark come back in the room.

"Jack!" Mark gently knocked on the wall. "Tyler's ready."

"Great!" Jack logged into the game and waited for his friends. "Let's get this show on the road!"

 

 

 

 

"Sean!" Signe called out. "Did you get the blankets?"

"Yeah!" Jack hauled his ass down the stairs with two blankets bundled up under his arms. "I got them!"

"Thanks green bean." Signe giggled as Jack packed the blankets, and she finished wrapping the sandwiches up. "Where are we going anyway?" She asked.

"It's a surprise," Jack told her in a playful tone. He pecked her on the cheek and took Signe's pack away from her.

"Hey!" She yelped. She made a grab for the backpack, but Jack held it high over his head and kept her from grabbing it. "Sean!" Signe laughed. "Give it back!"

"I don't want to!" Jack yelled in surprise when Signe pushed him, and they both tumbled onto the couch. They laughed and sat up side by side, and Jack quickly wrapped his arms around Signe's waist and pulled her closer.

"Sean!" She let out a giggle as Jack hugged her. "You're silly," she laughed as she hugged him back.

"That's me!" He said in a singsong voice. Signe suddenly ran her hand through the Irishman's hair, and Jack yelped as his hands flew to his hair.

"No!" He yelped as Signe grabbed her bag and darted out of reach. Jack fell over on his side and burst out laughing. "How could you!?" He wailed with a grin. Signe smirked and walked out of arm reach as she went back to their bags and finished packing.

"There. All done." She smiled at Jack as the Irishman got up, and Jack's thoughts melted away as he smiled back. _God she's so amazing..._ His breast was buzzing with the excitement he had to contain, and while he was eager to pop the question, he had never been so nervous in all of his entire life.

 _I'm glad I remember enough to think that!_ Jack realized as he helped Signe take their bags to the car. As he went inside to get the last pack, his mind blanked out as another memory hit him.

 

 

 

 

**Jack sighed happily as he scrolled through Twitter. _My god there's so much fanart!_ He was still floored by the fact that people would dedicate hours of their time not only to watch his videos, but to also draw him. It still took Jack's breath away, and the fan art was so awesome!**

**Before Jack had started YouTube, he had seen how his friend Felix got cool fan art, but it never occurred to him that he too would receive this kind of flattering attention. Six months later and it still made Jack's chest glow with obeisance and awe at the amazing community he had; he felt so lucky to be surrounded by such awesome people.**

**At the moment, the YouTuber was looking for a good thumbnail to use. Since Jack was going to post a video where he played a fan game, he figured it was only appropriate to also use someone's fan art, with permission and credit where it was due of course.**

**He suddenly stopped scrolling, and his thumb stopped above the screen. "Ooh..." Jack clicked on the picture that had caught his eye and grinned. "Wow, this one looks epic!" He exclaimed. It was perfect. "Ok, now who's the artist?" He murmured to himself as he searched. A few minutes later, he found the artist's account.**

**"Wiishu?" Jack read out loud. "That's a cool name." He went ahead and messaged the artist, asking permission to use their cool drawing. Smiling, Jack set his phone down and continued eating his cereal, excited to hear back from Wiishu. He had no idea at the time that they would become more than just acquaintances, or friends...**

 

 

 

 

Jack stared off into the distance for a few seconds before he smiled. Remembering how he met Signe was the last piece of the puzzle; he remembered everything now! The Irishman realized that he had tears in his eyes, and he wiped them away when Signe called from outside, "Sean? Where are the napkins?"

"I've got them," Jack yelled back. He dug through his pocket and pulled out the promise ring, and he looked at for a few seconds before he smiled and rolled it up in the napkin. "I'm coming!" He zipped the bag up and took it with him, and Jack left the room enamored and confident.

 

 


	20. A Happy Ending?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so they lived happily ever after... right?

**A/N If you don't care about subplots and you came only for the G/T, you don't have to read this chapter. But you just might find it interesting   :)**

 

 

 

_"And so, the young man Jack came to recover his memories, and he lived happily with Signe,  and with the relief of recalling every single fond and sad occurrence in his life. Mark and Tyler were content in their appropriately sized home, and all of Jack's friends had quickly become close with the two giants. The traumatic experiences the two had overcome in their pasts had now faded from their memories, and so the story ends on a happy note... turns out not all monsters are bad." The low voice narrating suddenly stopped and let the silence sink in to the dark room. A deep breath was taken, and a sigh escaped a man's lips._

_In an unknown place a man sat in front of a desk of papers, his face shielded by the thick shadows. There was only a lantern to illuminate the old wooden interior of an ancient house that surrounded him, but it was placed on a small table beside the door, and its purpose was clearly not meant for seeing. In front of the man stood a stack of thick creamy paper, with one final piece sitting directly before the man's chest. One hand rested on the table, while the man's other hand wiggled a pencil back and forth like a seesaw as the writer thought._

_He suddenly slammed his fist against the table and snarled in frustration as he scribbled notes hurriedly in the margins, muttering darkly under his breath._

_"No. The author is not pleased with this wretched tale!" He hissed out from between his bared teeth. "It's not good enough! Not enough detail!" He stopped and tilted his head up, the light angling properly on his features to reveal a bloody cloth over his eyes. "It needs... more. The roles aren't quite right...." The author hummed deeply in thought and slammed his pencil down, abruptly getting out his seat and beginning to pace. He muttered under his breath._

_"He, despite his efforts, desires to be noticed!" He murmured. "He tries, he many times has turned to his gift for the way! ... but it is nothing more than a curse, and a burden." The man whirled around, pointing his nose at the papers and scowling. "He tries his damndest to create the perfect world, but not even he can succeed!" He bellowed. He dashed to the desk and grabbed the papers, flipping them over his shoulder with a yell of anger. The papers drifted freely to the floor, and the man panted from his outburst. He stood still for a moment before suddenly turning toward the door._

_"Despite his reserved fury, his anger is suddenly interrupted, as an old friend approaches the door and knocks," he whispers. As the words escaped his lips, heavy pounding suddenly shook the door. The man licked his dry lips and walked over to answer the knock, and he opened the door._

_"Hello... long time, no see." The man was darkly shadowed, with his voice deep and dark and hissed out like a snake. The lantern's light didn't affect him, only contrasting the strange newcomer and his sinister aura. The blind folded writer muttered under his breath and swallowed before speaking._

_"Why have you come? Have you returned to mock me again?" He mumbled. The newcomer tilted his head and pressed his hand over his breastbone._

_"Now why would I do that?" He asked as the author's ears were filled with a familiar ringing noise. His words seemed to echo into the deepest and most reserved parts of his mind. The man looked at the thing before him and replied evenly, "The author asks the demon where their... accomplice, is." The shadowed man scowled._

_"He tried to tickle a mortal with a knife," he sneered. "He may be our old friend, but he has as much brains as a rodent." The blindfolded man scratched his nose, having wisely decided to not reply to this comment. Instead, he turned and left the door wide open, and he approached his desk and picked up a glass of water. He sipped from it and rubbed his sore throat as the demon entered the house without any invitation needed._

_"You were once great, but how the mighty have fallen," he hissed. "You have a gift... and this? This is how you waste it?" He asked, waving his arm at the desk and scattered papers. The author swallowed down his drink and set the empty glass down, turning to his friend._

_"The author receives the urge to remind him that it was he who stranded the Host to this hell hole," he growled. The demon rolled his eyes and sighed._

_"It was for your own good," he replied as the blindfolded man shook his head and turned away. He had heard this song and dance before, over and over... "You caused damage out there, you have killed people with your stupid little stories!" The demon suddenly shouted. The writer flinched and rubbed the side of his head, bothered by the ringing that was a side effect of the monster's anger. He muttered under his breath before asking a clear and precise question._

_"What about the others?" The demon sighed and tugged on his tie, pushing his suit down a little to make the outfit more comfortable._

_"They're still around... for now," he answered coldly. "Our beloved computer friend recently received an upgrade, as a matter of fact." The author nodded thoughtfully, licking his lips again and rubbing his throat. The demon tilted his head and suddenly rolled it from shoulder to shoulder, twitching and jerking in a weird glitchy way before he was suddenly back to normal._

_"You've been writing again, haven't you?" He asked. The writer nodded quietly. "You know that it never ends well when you write," he pointed out. Again, the blind folded man mumbled some things under his breath before replying._

_"It helps me... escape," he explained calmly as he ran his hand through his messy and fluffy black hair. The demon sighed again and shrugged his shoulders._

_"Fine. Have it your way," he growled softly, and he turned and exited through the open door, disappearing into the darkness outside. The door slammed shut behind him, automatically locking and sealing the house once more._

_The writer put his hands on the edge of the desk and let out a shaky sigh, his brow furrowed. Troubled, he slowly stood up straight and left his desk to check the door, and when he was sure it was locked he returned to his corner and sat in his seat. He looked at the papers scattered on the creaky floorboards, and then looked at the desk._

_"... he must try again," he murmured. He opened a drawer and pulled out a blank sheet of paper, and he brushed his broken pencil off the desk before pulling out a new one. He pressed the butt of the pencil to the old creamy paper, thinking for a few seconds before he wrote something down._

_"An author must have a story to tell," he said out loud as he wrote three words down._

_" **The Space Voyage**."_

 

 


End file.
